One Piece: Rise from the Ashes
by Black' Victor Cachat
Summary: Two years have passed, but the signal has been given, and now the Whitebeard pirates are ready to return to help forge the New Era. For Straw Hat Luffy has returned... (No longer canon compliant as of ch. 909)
1. Rise

I do not own One Piece

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Beta read by the wonderful Karukyuu

Rise from the Ashes

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Spoilers for chapter 820

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Chapter 1: Rise

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"Alright then, everybody ready?" Marco the Phoenix asked as he looked over the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates. Vista twirled his mustache with satisfaction, Izo had done his make-up to perfection in celebration, and Jozu was smiling for the first time in years, his natural arm crossed over his chest with his prosthetic one.

"RAAAAAAAH!"

"Glad to hear," Marco said with a lazy grin, but his fellow Division Commanders and other brothers and sisters could all see he was as excited as they were.

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 _"We all witnessed firsthand…his bottomless determination and power."_

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Following the death of the Old Man, the Whitebeard Pirates had been bereft. Their Father, dead. A thousand upstarts attacking them while they seemed weak. The traitor already starting to seize their territory. And worst of all, there was no one that they could bring themselves to accept as Captain, especially since Marco refused to accept the title. In their darkest hour, they had struggled to find a purpose, one worthy of the Old Man's pride in them.

And then a certain young fool had returned to Marineford to ring the Ox Bell sixteen times, declaring the end of Whitebeard's era, and the beginning of his own. That was when they knew what they had to do. That was when they had begun to plan.

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 _"Ace protected him, and the Old Man acknowledged him!"_

 _"Now it's our duty to send him off into the new era!"_

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"And you guys are convinced?" Marco continued in relaxed manner to their assembled allied captains who had returned for this special day.

"What can I say?" Whitey Bay responded with a fierce grin on her face while holding up the latest addition of the newspaper, "Jinbe said it would take two years, and I said we should wait before going to see him, give him a chance to prove what he's capable of in the New World on his own first, and he's definitely done that."

"Indeed," Doma agreed while his monkey chattered and jumped up and down on his back.

"Let's do it," Squard said, burning with a need for redemption that no one could dissuade him of, while the dozen other captains eagerly nodded.

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 _"Akainu! Could it be that what you fear in him…is the very thing that makes him our hope for the future!?"_

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"Well, then, let's get to it," Marco concluded, and in his eyes they could all see the same spirit that had made Edward 'Whitebeard' Newgate appoint him as his right-hand. Here was a pirate ready to wage war once more. "This is era belongs to Ace's little Brother, Straw Hat Luffy, and it's our job to make sure he does it. Now we just have to find him. Set sail!"

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	2. Searching for Straw Hat

I do not own One Piece

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Rise from the Ashes

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Chapter 2: Searching for Straw Hat

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 _It was supposed to be you, Ace_ , Marco thought as he looked past the rough waves. _You were supposed to be the Captain after the Old Man_.

For while Ace might have been new to their family, he was also the favourite brother. Not the favourite son, for Whitebeard had none of those, but the brother that everyone liked and respected. The entirety of the Whitebeard Pirates would have mobilized regardless if any one of them had been captured by the marines, but it was for Ace that all of those other famous pirates had come to join them in rescuing him. True, he had still been young, a bit too raw, and definitely needed more work on his haki, but the Old Man had known that with Marco at his side things would have worked out with Ace as the new Captain.

Everyone knew that Marco had been with Edward Newgate the longest, but none of them realized the truth, that when the two of them had first met, the legendary Whitebeard had been a young punk just joining a pirate crew, while Marco had already been the seasoned first-mate of the ship. It was not until years later that he had found the Mythical Phoenix fruit that had halted his aging, leaving him perpetually young. Yet for all that, for all that Marco was older in years, Whitebeard had still become his father, possessing the maturity and protective spirit that Marco had not even realized he craved, and became the first son.

Unfortunately, they had all known that Whitebeard was growing too old, so Marco had made it clear that he had no interest in being the next Captain, and had been the first to endorse Ace for that role. All of the other Division Commanders had agreed in their own private meetings with the Old Man. Of course, Ace had apparently felt Marco should have the position, but Marco had been preparing for that fight in getting the idiot to accept the post. Whitebeard had known he could count on Ace to protect and maintain the family when the old legend finally passed away. Frankly, if Ace had not been kidnapped, the man would have probably headed over to Marineford anyways, or have gone to pay a final 'visit' to Kaidou or Big Mom.

"You saw the morning paper?" Vista asked as he walked over.  
"Yep," Marco smiled, "he's still at it."

The swordsman also grinned while preening his mustache, "Straw Hat's guts sure haven't faltered."  
"No, if anything he's causing even more mayhem now that he's got his crew with him, and it seems they're just like he is."

"Makes sense," Vista shrugged, "otherwise they wouldn't have stuck around, and their bounties are impressive for rookies."

"I dunno," Izo voiced as he came over, immaculate in his make-up and brand-new pink kimono. "That pet of his, Tony Tony Chopper, still seems too tame to me. I'd expect something more radical from the Straw Hats, even if it is adorable."

"I'll say it again," Marco wearily sighed as they returned to that old argument, "the Navy's hiding something. They've never put a bounty on a pet before, so there's something more going on that they know about, but don't want anyone else realizing just how valuable he really is to them. This is just their way of keeping everyone looking out for the little guy."

"We still haven't seen anything like that in the papers," Izo countered, "and if it was something really fantastic, wouldn't we have heard about it before?"

"We'll have to stop to check for rumours anyways while searching for Straw Hat anyways," Marco reassured him, "so we can ask about Tony Chopper then."  
"We _have_ been out of the loop," Vista grumbled. Hiding had become their only option, but that hardly meant anyone was happy about it. Whitebeard had long known that he was nearing the end of his life, and despite having the world's most sophisticated life support readily available, he had been forced to consider the possibility that his heart might just give out suddenly one night. Or that one of the numerous assassination attempts by the World Government, generally targeting his medical equipment, would succeed. The Old Man had also taken into consideration that while his sons were strong, individually they lacked the power to stand-up to the other Emperors, meaning that they would have to stand united in face of that threat. Unfortunately, his many, many contingencies for protecting his sons after his death had never conceived the sheer level of betrayal that Teach had committed.

It was at the height of the Payback War that Marco had realized the truth: they could not win, because Teach knew them too well. The Blackbeard Pirates' power had indeed been formidable, but what had made it decisive was that Teach had exploited nearly every secret the Whitebeard Pirates had. Over the years he had subtly wormed out ever plan or resource that nearly all the Division Commanders had believed to be safe, and was able to anticipate their every plan, even when they had thought they were being unpredictable.

After Straw Hat Luffy had rung the Ox Bell, he had been their hope for the future of pirates. Before that, while they had been grieving, all they had had to believe in was vengeance, but then Straw Hat had become someone else they could put their faith in. Once Blackbeard had been killed -or so they had planned- they would have been able to test and guide Straw Hat into becoming the next Pirate King (he had still been a raw rookie when they had last seen him after all, despite his vast potential), or allying with him if he quickly proved himself. After his final clash with Blackbeard, Marco had realized that Straw Hat was now their only hope for survival.

Like Blackbeard, Straw Hat was a wild card: unpredictable, strangely charismatic, and even surprisingly powerful. Moreover, very, very few had earned such respect from Whitebeard, especially in the brief time they had known each other. In fact, the only other one that came to Marco's memory was the Pirate King himself. If Silvers Rayleigh had succeeded in drawing out the young man's potential like Jinbe had told them he would, and if Straw Hat continued to be able to draw together diverse rogues for a common cause, then the Whitebeard Pirates would have an ally that might give them the edge they needed to finally match Teach in combat again.

Fortunately, Marco had still been able to buy them the necessary breathing space. While disinterested in finding Raftel, the Old Man had respected the value of such knowledge and that it might prove useful in the future, but had also known that such information could be dangerous. Therefore the hiding place for the copies of the Poneglyphs had only been entrusted with his oldest, and thus most responsible, son. Teach had evidently _thought_ he had known the proper location, and his discovery of the truth had put his own schemes on hold, but it was obvious the man had a back-up plan, and probably enjoyed having to retrace the steps of the Pirate King. Marco had retrieved the Poneglyph copies, faked their destruction, and escaped from the traitor's wrath barely alive at the very end of the Payback War, knowing that their only chance for justice now was to disappear and wait for their Little Brother.

"He'll be easy enough to find," Izo chuckled, "just follow the chaos." But then he sobered, "Or not since the marines will find him that way."

An uneasy silence stretched on from that, but they all knew they had to keep faith.

"Any closer to what you'll say when we find him?" Vista finally asked, it had been two years of preparation after all.

"I'll know when I see him," Marco breathed out. "I know it's not what we want, but he doesn't seem the kind of guy to want to hear to prepared speech. Besides, it's very likely he'll be right in the middle of something."

"It would be nice to gauge how his swordsman, the Pirate Hunter, fights," Vista agreed hopefully. "Some of the rumours about him are nearly as interesting, and his bounty has really risen."

"He _is_ of the Worst Generation," Izo pointed out, "though frankly that just makes Straw Hat look better."

"I think," Marco began before stopping to reorder his thoughts some more, "I think we'll play it by ear. I'm afraid that it's _Straw Hat_ who will be feeling guilty over Ace dying," and then held up a hand to stall the protests of his brothers. "We'd feel the same in his place. But if so, we've to make sure that we're here for him, to help fulfill Ace's wish, to respect the faith the Old Man had for him, and help him become the Pirate King. But first we'll find someone who will have a better idea."

"Fishman Island still?"  
"Yes, time to go say hi to Jinbe again, and he'll have met Straw Hat so he can help us know what to expect. Besides, it's been too long. Should check in on King Neptune while we're there, see how the old guy's doing."

 **XXX**

 **Author Notes:  
Originally supposed to be a one-shot, but some reviews made me decide to do a little more. **

**The part about Marco's age was inspired by noticing that he looked exactly the same as from the flashback for when the Whitebeard Pirates declared Fishman Island under their protection.**

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	3. Beating Weevil, Version 1

I do not own One Piece

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Rise from the Ashes

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Chapter 3: Beating Weevil, Version 1

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"Well!?" Edward Weevil, the so-called Whitebeard Jr. boomed down at A.O, "Do you admit it!? Do yo admit that I'm Whitebeer's only son!? Or yo gonna die!?"

Captain A.O of the A.O Pirates coughed up some blood as he struggled to raise his head to look the childish man in the eye, "Whitebeard is…and always will…will be…my father. And if Whitebeard were …alive…he'd have already killed you."

Snorting, Weevil hefted up his bisento to kill A.O, the last survivor of both the crew and the burning city.

 _I'm sorry my brothers_ , A.O thought, refusing to take his eyes off his killer, _I won't be able to join you after all, but I know you'll see that the Old Man's legacy lives on. That our Little Brother will seize the New Era!_

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"I admit it! I admit it!" Weevil cried out in terror, "I'm not Whitebeer's son! That means we okay, right!?"

"I told you before," Zoro the Pirate Hunter snarled, the air thick with bloodlust, "I don't care about that. I don't even know who this 'Whitebeer' is, and I wouldn't care even if I did! This is about you attacking the Whitebeard Pirates!"

"Uhm," one nearby allied mook started to say to correct him, but then a voice in his head screamed at him to shut up.

The bloody Warlord scooted backwards some more, trembling in fear at the monster Who. Would. Not. Die.

A Demon trapped within human flesh. A God of War with three faces and six arms.

"The Whitebeard Pirates protected Luffy when we weren't there to. They stepped forward to fulfill my duty when I failed, so now I'm going to return the favour," Zoro declared, promising punishment and death as he readied his nine black swords. "Now stand up and fight!"

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 **Author Notes:**

 **This goes against my original policy of just showing what I think the Whitebeard pirates are doing right now, as opposed to future predictions, but I just had to get this out.**

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	4. Fishman Island

I do not own One Piece

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Special thanks to Menolly5600 and Karukyuu for giving me the boost to get this going! And for Karukyuu beta reading this too!

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Rise from the Ashes

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Has spoilers for chapter 827

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Chapter 4: Fishman Island

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Fishman Island

The Neptunian Guards on duty for customs were always on alert. The men and women coming to Fishman Island were almost universally pirates, and usually shell-shocked, with the potential to lash out in lingering fear. There were several reasons why the Navy had yet to establish a naval presence here, and the 70% fatality rate for humans just trying to reach the place had something to do with it.

"Small boat," the senior guard informed the others, "and coming from the New World."

"Minimal damage," another man noted, implying that whoever it was, they were unlikely to be rookies trying to flee the horrors of that sea. Likely natives of one of the islands there.

A few minutes later, four figures got out of the boat, wearing obscuring cloaks.

 _Not enough to safely sail a ship like that in the seas above, unless they are very skilled, and thus dangerous_ , the head guard concluded with concern, hoping the various security measures would be sufficient if things turned violent. "Welcome to Fishman Island. I know you're pirates, but we have to keep track of who is here. No harm will come to you during your stay here, so long as you respect our laws. Please show your faces."

The hood of one of the cloaks raised a bit as the leading hunched figure stood a little straighter, and the guard felt himself stiffen as he glimpsed the face underneath. "Thank you very much. Is there anything we can do to help make your stay easier?" he asked with sincerity that confused his subordinates, but the mysterious figure just shook his head.

Within moments they were on their way.

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Above the waves, Marco the Phoenix calmly went about his duties, hiding the impatience that was brewing within him. They were too close to the new Navy Headquarters for comfort, especially since he would not put it past some of the marines to tip off the Emperors to their location. As it was, they would likely have to sink a few Navy ships before this day was done. That was one of the reasons he had sent an advance team ahead. That, and at Fishman Island of all places they could not afford to start a fight with anyone.

"I hope they're alright down there," one brother commented to his neighbor as they adjusted the rigging.  
"Yeah, it seemed like every four months we had to go down there to deal with some upstart rookie who thought it would be smart to make a challenge to Pops by causing trouble on one of his islands."  
"Nah, I heard the Princes have gotten really good over the last few years."

"Makes sense if Jinbe taught them."

"No," Marco corrected as he sauntered over, "he didn't. Fishman Karate is a totally different school from Merman Gujutsu and Merman Combat. So he couldn't teach them that much."  
"Why not?" one asked, displaying the laidback familial attitude that remained with the Old Man's sons.

This is what it meant to be a Whitebeard Pirate: being not a crew, but a family. None of them obeyed Marco because of any power or authority he had, but because he was the big brother they respected and trusted to get them through each day despite the horrors of the New World.

The Phoenix just shrugged, "Just how it is down there." In fact, when Marco had brought it up, both Jinbe and Namur had been looking at him as if he had just proposed eating live puppies for dinner. It was just something _not done_.

 _Wonder how he's doing?_ Marco wondering again against his will about the advance team. Namur had been an obvious choice to send, along with three of the non-Devil Fruit power users amongst the Division Commanders. If there _was_ going to be a fight, they would be ready for it.

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Namur calmly made his way through the streets of his hometown sans his cloak, already experienced at not drawing attention to himself. As the only fishman to join the Old Man's crew, and to rise to become the 8th Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, he had been a bit of a celebrity every time he came home. Did all the people care that he just wanted to visit the dear old lady who had been in charge of the orphanage - _Rest her soul_ – in peace and quiet? Nooo!

Haruta, the 12th Division Commander was alongside him as they walked the streets, having also shed his disguise. Young and effeminate, he was nonetheless far more unremarkable when out of his distinctive and bright outfits, allowing them to get a lay of the land while their other two brothers shadowed them and tried to find out what the situation was like from the back alleys. Izo refused to discard his woman's clothes for any reason, even life and death, so he stood out a little too much, as did Vista with his hulking body and muscles. And that mustache. The inhabitants of Fishman Island may not judge on appearances, but that did not mean they were unobservant, and burly human, especially burly human _pirates_ , would garner more attention and concern. So those two would stick to the shadows while getting a lay of the land.

"Seemed a bit too easy back there at customs," the young man whispered.

"He knows me from way back, and his men know they can trust him," Namur replied. "Good man, and not bad in a scrap. Good drinking buddy too."

"Hmm," Haruta grunted back, and then the two of them started put a little distance between them, even as they walked side-by-side. A human freely interacting with fishman was a little unusual after all.

Casually they made their way down the street, soaking in the sounds and sights, _Everyone here seems in good spirits,_ Namur concluded, but he was still uneasy. _Despite what Big Mom claims about creating an interspecies utopia, she is still a threat to us all. Do they realize that_?

For his part, Haruta had spent the last ten minutes trying to figure out what felt different. He had walked through Fishman Island while incognito before, mostly to keep an eye on any hotshot pirate rookies, to make sure they did not cause trouble, but something felt different this time. Somehow, the island seemed more…welcoming.

They stopped as a gang of children ran by, heading towards a nearby park, where it looked like there was some mock fighting already going on, but neither adult could figure out the rules. In the center of it all though was one merboy pushing against a fishboy, both of them struggling upon a little incline that was surrounded by the other kids.

… _Wait, why's he wearing a_ … Namur began.

"You cannot win, Straw Hat Luffy! The Darkness shall consume you all, along with the humans!" the merboy yelled out.

"No Hody Jones!" cried the one with the straw hat, "I shall stop you and save all of Fishman Island so that we can all live as friends!" And then the fishboy pushed the merboy down, but it looked like the latter let him, and then everyone on the 'winner's' side started cheering, while the others started to make apologies and say how they now saw that they could live with humans.

 _What the what?_ Namur managed as he stopped in shock.

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"Not good, not good at all," Vista growled as he took in the sight of the destroyed candy factory. Workers were working non-stop at repairs, and it was clear that they were at max capacity, any more people and they would start interfering with each other. _Big Mom will kill them all! Did they at least get the shipment out before this happened!?_

The 5th Division Commander's experienced eye took note of the deliberate acts of sabotage to the building – _Someone's teeth?_ – and wondered who had done this, dooming the inhabitants to death by Emperor. "Good thing we chose to be discrete," Vista bitterly thought. _If Big Mom knew we were here she would have even more motivation to come, at least this way we might have the element of surprise on our side, ambushing the forces she sends to kill everyone._

For the Whitebeard Pirates could _not_ let her destroy all the people here.

"Relax," a voice whispered to him, and the swordsman glanced up to Izo, who was tense but not overly anxious. Taking the hint, Vista looked back, and this time noted the lack of panic on the repairmen. _Either they're fools, or they got the shipment taken care of in time_ , Vista realized with a sigh of relief. _Yes, the quiet patient route was definitely the right choice. Can't be rash at a time like this._

The two cloaked brothers retreated back into the alleys, tracking Namur and Haruta by their haki, "Any signs of Straw Hat yet?" he hissed.

"Well," Izo began, before a voice from the street cut in.

"Straw hats, straw hats, get your straw hats here! The hat of a hero! Buy them for your kids! " a salesman was yelling.

"It's too bad Jinbe had to leave," one store employee said as he brought out another large box of hats.

"Yeah, but we've got enough to last for a while," his manager reassured with a grin.

"Maybe one or two," Izo deadpanned, while Vista stumbled in shock.

 **XXX**

Izo, the 16th Division Commander, was also getting confused, particularly by the friendlier attitude by the locals. While Fishman Island had been Pop's territory, he had deliberately held a very light hand over it, even more than any other island under his protection. Originally this had been to avoid any insinuations that a human was really in charge, that King Neptune was just a pawn of the fearsome Edward Newgate, but other issues had taken over. With an ever growing domain, staying in one place too long would have put other islands at risk, and after just suffering pirate attacks that the Whitebeard Pirates would repel and retaliate for, it was thought that it might be best not to mingle with the public who doubtless would still be upset by the latest examples of human brutality.

 _Mayhaps that was a mistake_ , Izo conceded, _only having a few at a time go around here. Isolating ourselves instead of deliberately interacting with them and proving that not all humans are monsters. It appears that Straw Hat is wiser than I thought, that there is more behind his reckless attitude._ Then he smiled slightly in self-mockery, _Of course there is, no fool could accomplish what he has._

For now, even in the areas not dedicated towards the tourist trade and positive customer service, Izo was finding himself being welcomed far more warmly than he would have expected for a man who was both a human and a criminal. From some of the whispered mutterings, there were still some that were suspicious of him, but in the majority of the conversations he had overheard, it was clear that Straw Hat had done _something_ to make fishmen in general more accepting of humans. _Do I ask them about it? No, the fact that I was listening in, and can tell how much more open they are, would raise unwanted questions. Even here, the Navy would have a few spies, and possibly Big Mom too_.

Then Vista came back to sit at the bar table, "Food's good, but they're out of candy," he said as he laid out their orders.

 _Pity_ , Izo answered with regret, even as his mind raced. _Did something still happen with their shipments of candy to Big Mom? Enough that they had to cut off selling it to everyone else? Too many questions_.

Then their Den-Den Mushi began to ring, signaling it was time to regroup.

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The gondola discreetly landed out of sight of the city, and the four cloaked figures hurried onboard, with the giant domesticated fish quickly pulling the ride away.

"This way, Namur-sama," one of the Royal Guards invited, gesturing at a seat as they all headed up to the palace.

"Thank you, and just Namur," the fishman corrected.

"Thanks," Izo echoed, glad to finally pull back the hood of his cloak, while the rest of his brothers followed suit.

"The Ministers of Right and Left are waiting for you," the guard continued, "but King Neptune and his family are busy right now, and not to be disturbed for any reason short of an emergency."

"We understand," Vista reassured, "what with the Reverie coming up."

"Uhm, no, it is something else," and then the guard smiled, "but I think you'll like the surprise."

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The four Whitebeard Pirates were blinking in surprise at the sight before them, the largest female mermaid they had ever seen was panting as she rested on the dry floor, her flushed face and sweat going nicely with her revealing, yellow halter top.

"Is that…Princess Shirahoshi?" Haruta finally managed.

"Indeed it is," the Minister of the Right declared proudly, thumping the butt of his trident down on the ground. "She has been training without rest for days to become stronger!"

The guard who had escorted them here coughed in embarrassment at the sight of the provocative princes, "I meant, surprised to see her out of her room, by the way."

Namur's attention however was drawn towards the various pieces of exercise equipment scattered across the room, while Vista made a clinical study of the tightening muscles on her arms and under the skin of her tail. "It appears that she just finished quite the workout," Namur finally said, his trained eyes calculating how much she must have done.

"And she's surprisingly fit, especially for one who was trapped inside her room for so long," Vista complimented.

"Well, if you're stuck in a room all the time, you've got to do something to keep from going stir-crazy," Haruta pointed out as they watched the Princess' brothers come over to her to give both water and praise. "Otherwise she'd just be fat and slow."

"Indeed, and we're fortunate that she did exercise during those long and lonely years," the Minister said, and now the Pirates turned to look at him from his grim tone. "A few days ago we faced the near extinction of Fishman Island, and it was only averted because she was able to swim so fast and for so long. But now that she's free, she's thrown herself into becoming even stronger, so that she would be able to help a certain person when she met him next."

"Would this person happen to be, Straw Hat Luffy?" Vista asked.

The Minister hesitated, but then noted the _hope_ in that question and the eyes of the four brothers, and nodded, "Yes, the one and only."

Barring fierce teeth, Namur gave the other Whitebeard Pirates a knowing look.

"But I'm afraid you'll have to wait another hour before they're finished these session," the older merman apologized. "After recent events, Princess Shirahoshi's father and brothers take her training very seriously. You can stay and observe if you wish, or I can begin to fill you in on what happened."  
"No worries," Vista reassured, recognizing the gift they were being offered "we'll enjoy watching, not often do you get to see training for the merman, sorry, _mermaid_ martial arts."

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"Uhm, that doesn't seem right, does it?" Haruta hedged.  
"No," the Minister of the Left uncomfortably agreed.

After taking a rest from her physical exertion, the giant mermaid princess was now practicing arm movements and poses at the direction of an elderly fishman. Very familiar ones.

"Is that…Fishman Karate?"

The nearby guards fidgeted uncomfortably, but both the Ministers of Right and Left regained their resolve. "Indeed. The Princess has broken tradition, because she wishes to learn how to fight with her fists like Straw Hat Luffy, as opposed to the weapons used in Merman Gujutsu."

 _So she saw him fight?_ Haruta wondered, and resisted the urge for the X-time to just blurt out their questions. Not only would it be rude, but it would distract from the ongoing show: it was a rare privilege to watch someone learn the ancient and jealously guarded martial arts secrets of Fishman Island.

"And no one's said anything against this!?" Namur blurted as he shook off his shock.

"No one's had the heart to," Left confessed.

"And she's making surprising progress," Right defended. "Not just with her regular training, but for merging the two school's together. Jinbe gave her some tips, but it is clear she may be a prodigy. And the King is still teaching her and her brothers the way of Merman Combat."

Numbly, Namur conceded that would be invaluable. Devastating even. Merman Combat was based upon manipulating water, and with her size, it was very possible that like her father, Princess Shirahoshi learn how to launch massive attacks at invaders. _Wait, 'invaders,' why did I think that? ...Will she be actively protecting Fishman Island, and from whom?_ he wondered with concern.

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When the session was finally over, with an exhausted princess collapsing to the dry floor, the Ministers took the pirates down to see their liege.

"Namur! Haruta! Vista! Izo!" the giant merman boomed out in surprise, recognizing them all. "It is good to see that you're safe! What brings you here? Not that we're upset to see you," he hastily added, "but it's been so long since we've even heard any rumours about you–Jamon!"

"We've been lying low, King Neptune," Namur answered. "Rebuilding our strength, and waiting for a certain ally to make his reappearance. We came here to find any information about him, as well as to learn how you and your people were faring. Imagine our surprise when we started hearing hints of what exactly he'd done for Fishman Island."

"You're speaking of Monkey D. Luffy then?" the king asked with a shrewd but pleased look.

"Yes, but we've only gathered bits and pieces so far, and we're not sure what's true or not. So, could you tell us what happened with Straw Hat when he came here, your Majesty?" Vista asked.

"Oh! We'd love to!" a suddenly refreshed Shirahoshi gushed as she pushed herself upright, and the Whitebeard Pirates felt a twinge of fear at the look in her eyes, knowing now that they were faced with a _fan_. Someone who hero worshipped the Straw Hat Pirates and was delighted to find a fresh audience to talk about them.

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Hours and hours later

"-and tell Marco that the next time he's in the area, he must come and see us," King Neptune sternly ordered, making it perfectly clear that he disliked this mantle of shame the Whitebeard Pirates were bearing. "And the rest of your siblings for that matter-jamon!"

They were in his throne room now, with his progeny floating above him, while their guests stood within an air bubble.

"We'll let them know," Vista promised, "but that won't be for a while. But as we said, we came here seeking answers on Straw Hat Luffy."

"Oh ho!" the large monarch's boomed, his eyes crinkling with mirth. "And did you learn what you wanted to know?"

"We've now got more questions than answers actually," Haruta deadpanned, which raised some chuckles from the men and a look of confusion from Shirahoshi. _Maybe I wasn't clear in telling them about Luffy-sama, and what he and his friends did?_

Catching the look, Izo hastily spoke up, not wanting to hear such a …detailed and emotional story again so soon. It was clear that "hero worship" might be an understatement, although Cat Burglar Nami, or Namichin, was also spoken highly of. It was clear that having grown up without any female companionship over the long years had led the princess to look to the pirate as an older sister and second role model. What that meant for the future of the kingdom was anyone's guess.

 _No_ , Namur, decided, _it will be for the best_. It had been years since Queen Otohime had died, but Namur felt that she would be proud of her growing daughter. Shirahoshi had avoided explaining why, but it was clear that she respected the human pirate for her strong yet forgiving spirit. A pirate, especially a woman, would have to be tough and independent, yet it appeared this Straw Hat pirate still remembered mercy and acceptance. Hardly an example that would betray the beliefs and values of Queen Otohime.

"He's just a very unusual guy," Izo quickly clarified, "What we'd expect from Ace's brother, but we didn't get a chance to know him too well at Marineford. Outside of the important stuff that is."

The King noted the pain in the eyes of the humans, even as they forced themselves to casually mention that Day. _Best to get this over with._

The Pirates stood more to attention as the massive merman straightened up in his throne, and narrowed his eyes a little, "I confess, that while I wish to talk to you more about Straw Hat, there is a serious matter we must first discuss: the issue of Jolly Rogers. Can you forgive us for taking yours down?"

Silence.

"W-what do you mean?" Vista stammered. "It's we who should ask that of you! We pledged ourselves to protect your people, and proved incapable of that. If not for Big Mom—"

"Big Mom's flag will not stay with us for much longer," Neptune grimly informed them, taking in their stunned looks. Refusing an Emperor's flag, especially someone like Big Mom, was an unforgivable insult. Second only to refusing to meet her candy shipments. "Because of Hody Jones, we were unable to make our last payment of candy, and while we were able to escape her wrath that time, it has become clear that the threat that hangs over our heads is too severe. As such, I've taken to expanding our army, gaining 70,000 new soldiers thanks to Straw Hat."

"Do you really think that will be enough?" Namur cautioned, having personally seen the might of Big Mom's forces in battle. Underwater, the Neptunian Army would have the advantage against most invaders, but not against some of enemies an Emperor could dispatch. And if any of them reached dry land, it would be a slaughter.

"And how exactly did you make sure she didn't destroy you then?" Haruta threw in.  
"Because of Straw Hat again," and now Neptune's face lit with a mixture of emotions, "in exchange for a substantial payment, he got her to agree to turn her vengeance upon him, and in turn he declared that in the future he would make our island his own territory!"

Silence.

"Come again?" Vista breathed out in shock. And pride.

"He picked a fight with an Emperor, before even reaching the New World?" Haruta clarified.

"Saving our people a second time," Namur wondered aloud.

"Doesn't seem to care about the money either," Izo noted, but was obviously distracted.

Silence.

As one they turned to each other, and the grins they gave each other sent a shiver down King Neptune's spine. But not from fear, but anticipation.

And he knew that it was more than a passing fancy that made him hear the sound of drums. A call to war as the fires were relit.

"It looks like we made the right call, brothers," Vista concluded as he twirled his mustache.

"Kid's still got it," Izo agreed.

"Now we just gotta find him before she does."

"I know," Haruta laughed, "at this rate the only thing he can do to tick her off more is crash one of her Tea Parties!"

They all laughed at the sheer absurdity at that, with everyone else joining in as even the guards snickered.

"But why wouldn't he?"

Everyone froze and turned to look at a confused Princess Shirahoshi.

"Well, because that would be reckless and craz—" the Minster of the Right began, before cutting himself off. _Why_ wouldn't _he?_ he thought with growing fear, and it was clear the Whitebeard Pirates were fighting the urge to go off searching for Straw Hat _right now_.

King Neptune coughed, "I presume you'll be wanting to leave soon, but am I to take it that you aren't offended by the idea of our next Jolly Roger wearing a straw hat?"

"What? Oh, no, that's great," a visibly distracted Vista tried to reassure him. "What we'd want really, what Ace would want. The Old Man too I bet."  
"We still have your flag for safekeeping, why not hang them alongside each other?" Shirahoshi threw in, confused as to why everyone was so worried. Luffy-sama was so strong after all.

Everyone hesitated again, " _Real maverick here_ ," Haruta decided in disbelief.

"There's no reason to not do it for us," Izo got out hesitantly, "but it would depend upon what Straw Hat says."  
"Oh I'm sure he won't mind," the princess beamed.

 **-0-0-0-**

A short while later

"We'd better make sure we've got all the facts straight," Vista murmured as they swiftly rose to the surface with practiced ease on their ship. "Don't want to leave anything out for Marco and the others."

Then Izo slapped his forehead.

"What?"

"We never asked about Tony Tony Chopper, and if he's a pet or not!"

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **Oh, and Chopper trying to save Luffy and that he specifically carried out the blood transfusion was not mentioned, because frankly the fact that Jinbe gave his blood was the critical detail.**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review!**


	5. Following Straw Hat through Paradise

I do not own One Piece

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Beta read by the wonderful Karukyuu and rose7anne101. Make sure to go check out their own stories!

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Rise from the Ashes

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Chapter 5: Following Straw Hat through Paradise

 **-0-0-0-**

 _ **Before…**_

At the crack of dawn Fire Fist Ace was up and pacing back and forth as he waited for the morning paper.

"He _does_ know it won't come for another three hours, right?" one Whitebeard crewmember asked.

"He's afraid of oversleeping, he says. Doesn't want to miss his little brother's first wanted poster, since he should've sailed off by now."

And then the Second Division Commander in question froze in place, and then tilted his head as he went off to sleep.

The onlookers gave him a flat look, but then went back to work.

 **-0-0-0-**

About a week later, it finally came. A gleeful Ace ran towards the center of the deck where his Father sat, along with a lot of his ship-brothers.

"Look Pops! This is my little brother!" he cried out as he finally came skidding to a halt beside the mighty Whitebeard.

Setting aside his rum in interest, the massive old man leaned forward for a better look.

"Monkey D. Luffy. Dead or Alive. 30 Million Beri. The Straw Hat. Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates."

 _So this is the brat_ , Whitebeard mused, knowing from the way Ace spoke that he was closer to the boy that most blood-brothers, for Roger had died far too soon for this to be another child of the Pirate King. His uninformed sons though were having their own thoughts however, thinking that the different surname from Ace's was a little surprising, but they could be step-brothers, or maybe someone had suggested to the kid to fake his name so that no one would associate him with the famous Fire Fist. Ace had never said anything about that, so it was probably not important however.

There were some differences between them, with this grinning boy having a different complexion and rounder face, no freckles, and while his hair was also black it was straight where his older brother's was curly in a way that the nurses' were jealous of. Still, that goofy, dorky grin did seem like Ace. You could see the resemblance there.

"Wait, you mean we finally have a face to go along with that kid brother you never shut up about?" Thatch teased as he stepped closer to size up the figure in the picture.

"Yeah, you were even going on about him between trying to kill Pops!" another crewmember called out.

"Heh, not going to be scaring off people with that kind of bounty picture," Fossa teased as he took in Monkey D. Luffy's wide smile.

"Not a very intimidating moniker either," Rakuyo threw in. "Who's gonna be afraid of someone named 'Straw Hat,' eh?"

"Nah, it's perfect," Fire-Fist Ace chuckled. "Trust me, he never goes anywhere without it."

"And that bounty is pretty impressive for the East Blue," Kingdew added.

"How's about we make sure to meet him when he first comes to the New World?" Curiel grinned. "Just to make sure he understands how much tougher it is here than Paradise."

"Just don't go overboard," Ace warned, but his eyes were light and warm. He knew his brothers would be careful and "respectful" with their hazing, and it was not exactly a _bad_ idea for Luffy to learn about how harsh the New World could be. Also, Ace was a little bit of an anomaly amongst the crew, since the rest of the Whitebeard Pirates had no other blood family members alive (or at least none they would acknowledge), so Luffy was a new experience for them.

Alright, so there was the Decalvan Brothers, but they hardly counted.

Luffy was just a nice new source of gossip.

…And maybe Ace _had_ talked their ears off about him once or twice.

 **-0-0-0-**

Whitebeard took another deep drink of his "medicine," savouring the taste of the quality booze, a gift from a man on one of the protectorate islands. Not for the usual reasons, but because his pregnant wife had gone into a difficult labour and Whitebeard had offered the services of his own miniature hospital. He stifled his frown as he realized his thoughts were wandering again, _Happening too often, I'm getting old_.

Around him his sons were having a great time chatting about Ace's little brother's first rite of passage: his first bounty poster, and were reminiscing about their own first bounties, but it was the "D." that caught their Father's attention. He always took note whenever a D. appeared, ever since his last conversation with Roger, and made a point of keeping a loose eye on them. _I wonder what you'll accomplish, brat_.

 **-0-0-0-**

"So he's called Straw Hat?" a voice boomed down.

"That's right Captain!" a crewmember yelled up at their leader, the massive Little Oars. Jr. "But it's not like yours, got a red ribbon around it and such!"

"Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ace's little bro and I should meet to talk about hats sometimes," Oars joked, fingering his own straw hat that Bro Ace had made for him.

"Yeah, but it'll probably be a few years before he shows up in the New World."

"Ace just needed a year," Oars pointed out, "but yeah, he has said how weak his little brother was in comparison."

 **-0-0-0-**

"Wow! Lookit this! Ace's little brother's bounty just shot up!"

"What? Really?"

Everyone in earshot started crowding in, glad to finally have something to shake of the gloom that had haunted them since Thatch's murder and wondering about what was happening with Ace while he hunted down Teach all on his own. The Second Division Commander was strong, no doubt, but Teach was an experienced survivor of the New World for over twenty years, while Ace was still fairly young. Hearing good news about his kid brother was an excellent way to lighten things up.

"Yeah, his bounty shot up to a 100 million!" Haruta exclaimed.

"What? That's a pretty big leap!" Namur noted. "What'd he do?"

They all glanced at an irritated Izo who was flipping through the newspaper, scanning articles. "No idea," the crossdresser finally said. "Nothing here to explain why they suddenly tripled his bounty. But you're right, it would have to be pretty big though."

"And one of his crew got a starting bounty of 60 million, they're calling him Roronoa Zoro, the Pirate Hunter!"

"Oh, well that's a more impressive name," Vista mused as he stroked his mustache. "I believe I heard word that someone by that name is regarded as the best swordsman in the East Blue." He gave an agreeable shrug at everyone's expressions, "I know, I know, that's not saying much, but he was supposed to be a bounty hunter. So what's a man famous for, as the name suggests, hunting pirates, doing with a pirate who's a single beri away from becoming a Supernova?"

"Hey, how long've they been in Paradise? Aren't they just starting out?"

"And why a starting bounty that's twice what his own Captain was wanted for?"

"They aren't going around killing people like the Kid Pirates—"

"Of course not! It's Ace's brother!"

"…Or they'd have said something," the speaker continued as if never interrupted, "so they must be doing something else to be seen as a threat."

"Obviously the government's covering something up," another brother smirked knowingly.

"Obviously, but what?"

"Yeah, I mean the only major event that's happened was with Crocodile in Alabasta, and…" the nameless crewmember trailed off as everyone started looking at each other.

 **-0-0-0-**

A few minutes later

Their Father was busy in what they recognized as his "contemplative mood," so the gossiping family members went to bug Marco.

"Don't be ridiculous," he told them, pausing in his paperwork as he figured out what supplies they would have to buy at the next island. "Not only did that man survive fighting Pops, but for twenty _years_ he's defended his title as Warlord from all challengers, from idiot rookies to veterans trying to take his place. And now you guys think that Ace's kid brother, the one who Ace likes to go on about how he could barely even throw a punch when Ace left him back home, beat Crocodile? And lived to tell about it-yoi?"

They all shuffled at that, feeling embarrassed at getting excited over nothing.

"Besides," Marco drawled, "Crocodile's a logia, he ate the Sand-Sand Fruit to manipulate, guess what, _sand_ , and he lives in a place also known as the Desert Kingdom of all places. You saying that a rookie from the East Blue beat a Logia in his home turf-yoi?"

"And the kid only ate the Gum-Gum Fruit, right?" Kingdew added as he walked up. "That's a pretty minor paramecia. Ace even said the kid had trouble moving about for _years_ , much less throw any of those punches he jokes about."

"They did say it was just a marine captain though," Izo added, "would you expect Crocodile to get beaten by someone like that either? Even if he is supposed to be a logia too?"

Marco frowned in thought at that, having remembered fighting Crocodile from years ago. Even then, the man's skills should have been enough that no navy man that low ranked could be expected to win. "What's that marine's name again, and what was his Fruit?"

There were only a few logia, so it was easy for them to remember. "The Plume-Plume Fruit, one of the weakest, you only become smoke. Eaten by someone whose mom named him 'Smoker' of all things, if you can believe it."

"Seriously?" Marco smirked in mirth. "Alright, you're right, we should look into this more. Even if you're all wrong, there's a rising marine to keep an eye on. Who wants to go look into this-yoi?"

 **-0-0-0-**

Later

"Hey Pops," Izo called out as he approached, projecting his voice so others could hear and know to come over, "looks like there's something behind that crazy idea that Ace's little brother took out Crocodile after all."

"Oh?" Whitebeard asked, lowering his jug of sake, while more of his sons walked up.

"Yeah, we just got confirmation from Doma," referring to one of their allied captain's and Pop's other sons, "both Doflamingo and Shanks of all people are also actively investigating the possibility that a rookie beat a warlord, given how his bounty jumped up for no official reason."

"Quite a bit of speculation actually," Jozu warned. "When that kids gets to the New World, people are probably going to be after him to test that out. Hotshots wanting to make a name for themselves, or just because they're curious. If it wasn't for the cover-up, he'd probably be fighting people throughout Paradise even."

Turning with a smirk, Izo held out his hand palm up to Marco, "Pay up."

"Bet's aren't finalized until confirmation," Marco lazily informed him.

"C'mon!"

"Nope. Don't ya all have better stuff to do?"

"Nope."

"Regardless," Whitebeard interrupted, wanting to keep on track, "it's clear that some dangerous people are taking an interest in Ace's brother." And yes, that included Red Haired Shanks. The man had not risen to the top of the food chain by being a laidback drunkard.

"Should we ask Shanks about his interest? When he comes to see Pops, I mean," one brother asked.

"No," Jozu firmly disagreed. "Red Hair probably knows we're interested, just like we know _he's_ asking questions, but if Pops brings him up at their meeting, then that man will become _very_ interested in Ace's brother, wondering why Whitebeard cares about some punk rookie."

"So just play it cool for now?"

"Exactly."

 _Speaking of rookies…_ Marco thought. A lot of his brothers were acting a little too cocky about Shanks coming over. _Might be best to keep the newer ones around until just before Shanks gets here, so that they can get a taste of his haki. Should motivate them to train harder afterwards_.

 **-0-0-0-**

The _Moby Dick_ was docked at a protectorate island, buying some new produce, when Blamenco came back early. Reaching into one of his cheek pouches, he pulled out a bundle of newspapers and a thick stack of bounty posters. "Hey! Everyone! Get a load of what Ace's kid brother just did!" With that he started throwing copies of yesterday's news to random brothers.

Snagging one, Marco unrolled it and took in the headline:

 **Enies Lobby, the Island of Justice, Burned to the Ground by the Straw Hat Pirates!**

 _Wait, what?_ Marco blinked, and reread the title.

"Good thing Ace isn't here, or he'd be insufferable," Blenheim deadpanned as the oversized man read over Marco's shoulder.

"Or racing off to the nearest Marine base because he's afraid that his little brother might get a higher bounty at this rate," Curiel laughed, laying down one of his bazookas to pick up the bounty posters. "300 million already, huh? Can't wait til he gets ta the New World!"

"Eight different bounty posters? That's unusual," Blenheim noted, since an intensely reading Marco was blocking the rest of the article with his body.

"Yeah, and that Pirate Hunter guy's a Supernova too now. And wow! Look at this hottie!" Curiel whistled as he showed the picture of Cat Burglar Nami.

"Ha!" Atmos boomed. "Most of them look like decent posters to intimidate someone, but her and their captain sure don't!"

Then a flat-faced Curiel held up a picture of an adorable critter eating cotton candy. "Seriously?" a confused Atmos asked.

"They say it's their pet," Blenheim frowned in puzzlement, taking in the commentary and a bounty so small it was not even worth cashing in. "That's pretty strange, going to the expense of making a poster for just a pet, and such a puny one that ( . No one…) no one'd think it's a threat. If some bounty hunters found them, they wouldn't even bother capturing it."

Marco handed over the newspaper, "A lot on the evilness and depravity of their crime, but nothing on how eight people accomplished all that, or why."

Elsewhere on the _Moby Dick_ , more and more crewmen were bunching up around newspapers, "It looks like this first mate of his, the Pirate Hunter, is indeed quite the swordsman," Vista beamed. "A Supernova in his own right!"  
"Says a lot about Ace's little brother right there, if he can command a man of such caliber," one brother agreed.

Some thought about pointing out that there was no guarantee that Pirate Hunter was a dominant man who had come under leadership of an even stronger one, but with Vista's pride in swordsmen it was not worth it while he was present. "Might not be the first mate," someone pointed out instead. "Some crews like to have a first officer that has more brains than anything."

"Ace _has_ said a few times how dumb his little brother is."

"Probably just him being a worrywart," Fossa, another swordsman, dismissed. "Or are you saying an idiot managed to burn down the Island of _Justice_?"

And at another grouping, "Looks like we're not going to be able to do the full 'New World Welcoming Party' we'd planned," Blamenco ruefully said.

"Sadly," Izo agreed. "If he's got that high a bounty, he might think he can just lash out if he takes it badly, and Ace would be upset if we put him in his place too hard."

"So who're we going to use all that glitter, glue, toothpaste, and hot sauce on?" Haruta wondered aloud.

"Does that mean we can get rid of all those trained birds?" one brother groused. "They keep making a mess."

"Thatch got those birds for this," another growled, "we're keeping them, and _someone's_ getting the surprise of their lifetime!"

"…It's possible that we've spent a little too much time on planning how to welcome Ace's kid brother," Izo admitted.

"Eh, guess it's probably best not make him suffer for how we've had to spend all these years hearing Ace go on about him," Blamenco advised. "Maybe just some booze and some spars?"

"Oooh!" Haruta said with a malicious gleam in his eyes that made all the others turn to him eagerly. "What if we faked up a poster for when Ace came back, saying that his brother had a bounty of 551 million to Ace's 550?"

Cackling with glee, the others started scheming anew.

 **-0-0-0-**

The news arrived during the monthly birthday celebration.

After his crew hit over three hundred people, Whitebeard had been forced to concede that celebrating his Sons' birthdays –or at least those who had an interest in such things— was impractical given the sheer number of celebrations that would entail. Plus, it was just a bummer to have a birthday party postponed because of a wild storm or a vicious battle.

Now years later they had worked out a system where on the first of every month, or whenever the Division Commanders decided based upon circumstances, they would celebrate the birthdays for everyone born during that month.

Birthday cake was a guilty pleasure for Whitebeard.

They would not let Thatch's death overcome them; he would never forgive them. Indeed, this was their way of remembering him, given how much the Fourth Division Commander had loved such parties.

Ace's absence was also evident of course, another hole in their daily lives, but all the more apparent at the party, but most of them were confident he could handle himself. No news was good news in their opinions.

Then the News Coo came by. Using his powers to purge away the alcohol, Marco bought the paper and opened it up to the first page. Something about a famous pirate being captured, with a picture of…

Marco threw down the newspaper and flexed his arms.

Cold burning wings of fire alerted everyone in sight as the First Division Commander flew towards the navigation room. "Have a course charted for Paradise, but do not set sail for there yet," he ordered, and the man on duty flinched at the icy tone before Marco then turned to fly towards the nearest staircase. Storming down below deck, brothers pressed to the side to let him by before hurrying up themselves to figure out what was wrong. The news was spreading throughout the ship now that Marco was agitated about something.

Nurses were running towards their Father with medicine to calm his blood pressure as golden eyes drank up every little written detail from the retrieved newspaper. "It's a trap," he growled, before cocking his head to read the sea and sky and confirmed that they were indeed _not_ on a course for Paradise. Good. No need to be too predictable. _I'll give you and the World Government a chance, Sengoku,_ the Emperor silently vowed. _You can release Ace, or give him a chance to 'escape,' but the moment you announce his execution, it's war. Giving you the benefit of the doubt, the traitor probably made giving Ace over too public for you to cover up, and I'll accept the loss of face you'll suffer as my price, as opposed to my Sons dying in battle. But if you go through with it…_

The Den Den Mushi were already starting to ring when Marco reached the communications room, running into a Brother who had just come out to find him or another Division Commander. "Unhook them all and ring the others," Marco ordered, and half a minute later over forty allied Captains were yelling for instructions. They were all heading to Paradise, but they wanted clarification for rendezvous points, and wanted to know if there was anything else they should acquire. Tersely Marco gave some coded phrases from memory that would translate into what Pops would order if he was there (he no longer needed to consult his Captain on such matters). He gave them instructions, designated meeting points, and then hung up. They took no offense to his curtness, knowing he was struggling to constrain down his own fury.

 **-0-0-0-**

Captain Squard of the Whirl-Spider Pirates paced furiously back and forth as his ship sat anchored off of the nearest designated island. Itching to set sail and _attack_ , but knowing what Pops was planning made him struggle to remain where he was. Marco had been very specific after all with those coded instructions, which all allied Captains had to memorize or at least write down in some way that would ensure their secrecy.

"But how're we to get to Paradise and Marineford so quick?" one crewman was asking his first officer.

"Some of the smaller allied ships are going ahead, with some craftsmen from the protectorates. Pops always thought the Navy'd try something this dumb, and he had them develop a method for a crack team to Coat the entire fleet far faster than anywhere else. Pop's other ships with some of the Division Commanders have already quietly arrived by now to help with preparations. We'll make it in time."

"And make the Navy pay if they've so much as _touched_ Ace," Squard muttered. He and the kid had not gotten along at first, but before you knew it they had been fast friends. Ace might have trouble bonding with people, but once you were his friend there was no one greater. Loyal to a fault, always helpful, and always dragging everyone around him into another exciting adventure. Everyone loved him, and everyone, from mightiest New World veteran to the lowliest deck scrubber was ready to save him, regardless of the cost.

Before setting sail, Squard had even given a few words to the effect that no one would begrudge whoever decided they wanted out, docking his ship by an inviting port for the night. Perfect opportunity for someone to slip away while their Captain was off conducting some final business (quality liquor to celebrate with Ace for when it was all over). No one had left. All of the other Captains had doubtless done the same.

"Captain! Sail to port!"

Glad for something to do, Squard snatched up his telescope and walked over to get a look at the oncoming ship. Then Squard's smile turned feral as he identified the Jolly Roger of the new arrival.

An hour later he was welcomed aboard by the newcomer, and was craning his neck up at the imposing and utterly massive figure of Little Oars Jr. "Ready for a fight!?"

"Yeah!" boomed the monstrous super-giant, eyes flashing for battle. "We're gonna save Bro Ace!"

"Or die trying," Squard vowed.

"We should just go to Impel Down and snatch him out from there!"

"I hear yah, but its better this way. The Calm Belt's no joke, and even with Pops we'd be hard pressed against all those Sea Kings, especially if we attract the ones the size of islands. We'd wear ourselves out by the time we got to the prison, and the guards would just call for reinforcements, even try to buy time by threatening to kill Ace. By going to Marineford, in front of the world while they're doing everything as publicly as possible, their pride'll keep 'em from doing that." Actually, Squard was not so sure about that, since he really did not know much about Impel Down's warden, but if anything that just reinforced his confidence that it was better to go to Marineford; Sengoku was a known factor.

"Well, if you say so," Oars slowly got out, scratching his head, his straw hat safely nestled on his back.

"And of course this way we can send a message to the whole world by crushing the Navy where it's strongest," Squard sneered. This was a matter of honour and pride after all, and they would crush the Navy where it was strongest and rescue their brother regardless of the peril and cost. It would be in front of the whole world, not at some dank prison in the middle of nowhere.

 **-0-0-0-**

"Sir, begging your pardon, but any new orders?"

"No Captain, HQ's orders are still the same, tail and observe only."

"…You know it's too quiet, don't you Rear Admiral?"

The senior marine threw his subordinate a glare, but knew it was fear making him act like that. The twenty-three guard ships of the fleet were on the frontline of the looming war, tasked with ensuring that the rest of the marines always knew where the Emperor was.

And the announcement of Portgas D. Ace's impending execution had been released in the newspapers three days ago.

"Sir! The _Moby Dick_!"

Heads snapped around to see the massive ship was starting to move…towards the Red Line and Marineford beyond.

"Alert HQ of this at once!"

 **-0-0-0-**

"—repeat! The Moby Dick is starting to advance, we are—"

Blue fire smashed through the upper decks and burst into a particular room.

Crushing the assigned officer beneath his talons, Marco swung the most secure Marine communications devices into a bag. Unable to call for help, they were all trapped mice for him now.

 **-0-0-0-**

His daughters holding onto his life support equipment in the background, Whitebeard vented his rage with another tsunami, sinking another ship and throwing the remnants around so badly they would be unable to get a word out.

Mighty cannons all across the massive _Moby Dick_ thundered with unerring accuracy, manned by the greatest pirate crew alive.

 **-0-0-0-**

Namur and his 8th Division smashed up through the hull of the warship, their Commander taking the lead while they finished pulling off their air supplies and then joined him in gutting the ship.

 **-0-0-0-**

Marco and Fossa passed each other on one of the last ships, the former carrying a large load of Navy Den Den Mushi to help tap into whatever orders were given during the upcoming battle. _No, upcoming_ war, Marco corrected himself. _Because even if we crush the Navy, it won't end there. 'Cause we won't be just facing the cream of the Navy and the Warlords, this'll also be against their promise to the world that they offer everyone safety against all the 'evil' upon the seas, that they are Justice, vindicating whatever they demand of public. The only way the World Government can survive outright collapse is if they manage to beat us, even after we sink Marineford and everyone on it after getting Ace away. It won't end even if we kill Sengoku and the Admirals. And with the Navy's strength crushed, other pirates will rampage for wealth and territory, and Big Mom and Kaido will attack us while we're still recovering._ For Marco was no fool, his belief in victory was born from confidence in his family, not arrogance, but he knew that they would still suffer horrific losses in the bloodbath to come. Pops was on his last legs, and many precious brothers would die in the days to come. It was all too plausible that winning at Marineford would leave them too weak to resist the other Emperors, but they still had to do it. You didn't let people hurt your family.

Ignoring the fire and gore surrounding them, Fossa called back to his older brother, "Maybe you should've let them get a longer message out after all," rightfully assuming that Navy HQ would only have received what Marco allowed them to.

"No, best to keep them in the dark and wondering if we've got something new. Maybe it'll snap them to their senses."

"Marco…" the grizzled veteran began, and something in his tone made the Phoenix stop and turn around. "We can win this, but at what cost? Our protectorates are going to be vulnerable."

"The nobodies will stay away until Pops is dead, especially after we crush the Warlords and Admirals. That just leaves the Emperors, and since this'll be their best chance in ages they'll go after us directly instead of just the islands they can take after we're dead."

Sneering in contempt at their adversaries, Fossa nodded. Those opportunistic vermin would learn the truth of their arrogance if they tried such a thing. Especially once Ace started sinking all their ships. Dude would probably have a lot of stress and frustration to work off.

 **-0-0-0-**

"Alright, Shanks," Whitebeard growled into the secure Den Den Mushi, confident that no unwanted ears would overhear, "what do you want?"

Silence for a moment, doubtless from the Red Haired brat registering the concession his elder had granted him, especially since it was _Whitebeard_ who had initiated the call.

"…To not see the New World be consumed by bloodlust. I'll keep the other Emperors off your back, you bring Ace back and end this mess."

"Done. I'll have him bring you over some quality booze as thanks when this is done." And then he hung up.

"So what does he really want?" Haruta asked, his youthful face belying the shrewdness in his eyes.

"He doesn't know yet either," Whitebeard grumbled, "but he knows that now's not the time to push me, and he'll wait to see what the situation is like after Marineford, for both us and the Navy. He might even show up after it's started even."

Fussing away, his daughters started reapplying his life support equipment, they would be unhappy when he sent them away from the fight while passing by Fishman Island and took the stuff back off. _And for the last time_ , Whitebeard knew deep within his heart. He had felt the strain when he had crushed those insufferable spies, and knew that he only had one more good fight left within him.

 **-0-0-0-**

Their plans had been finalized, and their weapons were readied. The Coated ships disappeared into the dark ocean depths.

The entire time not a word had been said about where their final destination was, and why. They all knew.

They all would have gone regardless, not even their Captain's orders would have stopped them.

And so the Whitebeard Pirates and their allies sailed for Marineford for War and Destiny. For family.

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:  
According to Oda, Crocodile became a Warlord in his early twenties, and was forty-four when he met Luffy. With that context, his seemingly arrogant comments to Luffy make more sense. Sure it was still arrogant, but he ****_had_** **been defending his title for two decades, give or take.**

 **If the timing seems off, or too slow, note that Whitebeard was not announced to be advancing until after Luffy had learnt about Ace's fate.**

 **-0-**

 **Recommended fics:**

 **"Breakout" by my dear, dear Beta who helped me write this: Karukyuu**

 **"Siblings" by K.**

 **"5 Ways that Ace Didn't Die"** **by evilchibis**

 **"Thank you for loving me" by Stelra Etnae**

 **"The Power of Touch" by Sarcasticles**

 **"You Are Not Alone" by Jade Tatsu**

 **"Strays" by ladeste**

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 **Please Review and I will get back to you!**


	6. Marineford, Part 1 of 3

I do not own One Piece

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Beta read by the wonderful Karukyuu

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Rise from the Ashes

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 **I just want to say thank you to everyone for all of your encouragement with this story. I am truly amazed at how what was supposed to be just a one-shot has taken off :-)**

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Chapter 6: Marineford, Part 1 of 3

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 ** _Before…_**

When something came hurling out of the sky towards the battlefield in the bay of Marineford, for a few moments the pirates thought that this was some new part of the strategy that the navy had concocted; maybe even a flying ship that was landing to attack. Yet as the ship crashed down into the sole exposed patch of water, it became clear that the marines were just as confused as anyone. In fact, the situation was more surreal than anyone could have imagined.

That the ship was largely intact, aside from splitting in two, was a miracle in itself. That the hundreds of figures that had come with it were still moving of their own volition, despite the sheer fall, was a sign to all the hardened veterans present that the newcomers were no weaklings. The presence of a Supernova who had captured the world's attention, an ex-Warlord of the Seas, and another Warlord who had been conspicuously absent from the ranks of the World Government's forces, only gave further testimony to this. _Jinbe? Crocodile? And… Ace's little brother!?_ Marco blinked in surprise.

Taking advantage of the confusion, Crocodile blurred into motion to attack Whitebeard, but before he could land a blow, a surprising figure stepped in.

"Ace's brother is pretty good," Marco smiled as the lithe figure whose face he and his brothers had all recognized kicked a Warlord away from Pops, " _Guess I might owe my brothers money on whether or not he beat Crocodile after all_."

Levity aside, the First Division Commander was also carefully assessing the sudden shift in the battlefield at Marineford between the Navy and the Whitebeard Pirates and Co. Hundreds of men and women (with all of the latter pleasantly dressed in revealing outfits…along with a bunch of men unfortunately, _Fishnets? Really!?_ ) had literally fallen down into the center of the fight, all armed and ready for action. The vast majority of them were also wearing prison uniforms. _Jinbe's here too_ , Marco verified with his Observation Haki, which was strange since last they had heard he was locked up in Impel Down, with the Sun Pirates bolstering security for Fishman Island, _But then so was Crocodile last I heard, and I recognize others here from Wanted Posters…_

Obviously there had been a prison break, a massive one. A historically unprecedented one from the most secure prison in history, so heavily fortified against invaders or escapees that its reputation had gone unblemished for eight _hundred years_ against all forms of pirates, dissident groups, or nations who had futilely opposed the might of the World Government. _And how'd they get past the Gates of Justice,_ because that was the only way to come so fast, and a quick glance showed the nearest one on the horizon was open, _while we're at it? They'd have had to get through two different sets, and Navy HQ would have had to let them in through the second one, which makes no sense!_

Never mind the impossibility of their arrival, somehow all of those pirates were cooperating despite the fact that the vast majority of them would have to be violence prone alpha male personalities if they had risen to be worthy of being sent to Impel Down. _And if that's Ivanko or Ivankov or whatever, they're also fighting alongside a Revolutionary Army Commander even_. As the 'Will of the People,' the Revolutionaries _killed_ pirates as part of their mandate of protecting the very public that the weaker, more pathetic pirates raided and preyed upon. That was why Dragon the Revolutionary had not offered any assistance despite how Whitebeard was off to crush the very World Government the enigmatic man had already been all-but at war with. And yet, again, they were all cooperating. Somehow. _It makes sense during a prison break, but why come here next? Many of them were rivals when they were sailing, but somehow worked out how to come here of all places. Heck, how'd Jinbe end up working with Crocodile, if the man went after Pops first chance he got?_

And last but not least, what was _Ace's kid brother_ doing mixed up in all this!? _He came right with them, but he's not dressed like a prisoner, but not like those…okama is it? Ask Izo later. So he's not with them, but he was standing up front where Jinbe and the other big names were before. So what's his connection?_

Yet the commentary from the assembled marines as they took all this in and yelled to each other about the "crimes" of the newcomers was only serving to confirm what Marco was struggling to wrap his mind around. _Did the kid really break into Impel Down to try and save Ace!? Alrighty then, let's get our prioroties straight…_

Priority #1: Save Ace.

Priority #2: Get out of Marineford without giving Pops a chance to make a dying last stand.

Priority #3: Get some beers into the kid and get him talking.

Priority #4: Check feasibility of getting the kid tattooed with the Whitebeard's Pride.

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 _Well, he's entertaining at least_ , Whitebeard conceded as the snot-nosed rookie kicked that upstart Crocodile away, the arrogant man's words confirming that the Emperor's "savior" was indeed Ace's pipsqueak brother.

 _That trick with falling from the sky alone will be enough for my Sons to laugh about for years_.

And then he saw the hat.

Seeing it for himself without a bounty picture to distort the image, Whitebeard now recognized it immediately from far too many battles in bygone years. He had even held it once, while in his other hand he had gripped its former owner: Red Hair.

 _To wear that hat_ _…especially given who originally gave it to him_ _…and Shanks lost his arm about the same time in the East Blue,_ Whitebeard realized. He asked the brat brother confirm its origins, but frankly it was only a formality by this point.

 **-0-**

 _It was an unprecedented meeting between two Emperors, and both of them were trying to keep it cordial, if only because neither of them wanted to waste their time fighting each other._

 _"_ _Now I can ask you face-to-face: what enemy did you give that left arm to?"_

 _"_ _This huh?" the other Emperor asked, pausing as if in memory. "Let's just say, I made a bet…on a new era."_

 **-0-**

 _So Red Hair marked this one who would be among those defining the new era? As the one to surpass him…?_

For Whitebeard could think of no other reason for that man to bestow his most priceless possession. It was the same act of faith he himself displayed whenever a new Son took up his mark: the hope that with his example and guidance they would become greater than their Father.

Throughout this epiphany, his expression never shifted as he stared down at the unassuming child. _Too young to be sailing these seas already_ , Whitebeard decided he needed to test Ace's little brother. Just to see what Shank's had seen ten years ago, _Bet the kid was still slurping down juice and learning to tie his shoelaces._ _Even Ace always emphasized that while Luffy was tough, he was nowhere near Ace's skill. And yes, he burnt down Enies Lobby, but that wasn't a military installation, and they were doubtless complacent after centuries without challenge. Marineford is another story, and_ _no matter how skilled he might be, this is no place for a rookie_.

Off to the side, there was a very curious observer to this conversation. As he hurried by to get to the communications room after an urgent summons from the men left on duty for tapping into Marine broadcasts, Marco's eyebrows rose in an uncharacteristic display of surprise. He was older than Pops, and also remembered how Red Hair Shanks felt about his hat. To hear that the boy was holding onto it for the man was…interesting. _More and more surprises from this kid_ , Marco silently smirked.

The aged Emperor called upon his vast authority, knowing that with hardly a gesture he was now vastly more intimidating as he stared down at the interloper, "Have you come to save your brother?" he asked with his gravely voice.

"That's right!"

"Don't you understand what you're up against!?" Whitebeard angrily growled, slamming the butt of his prized bisento down on the deck, sending out a small shockwave of air, his loud words now drawing the attention of the nearby marines and pirates as they stopped to watch this confrontation between the newcomer and the leader of one of the clashing armies.

The air between them seemed to ripple, with the boy bowing his head. _Disappointing_ , Whitebeard thought, still glaring down, _was I mistaken? Or did something happen to him after Red Hair gave him the hat?_

Then the face shot back up, forehead veins throbbing with rage as he shouted up with wildly gesturing arms and fists, "Shut up! That's not for you to decide!" and Whitebeard's eyebrow twitched, "I know perfectly well! You wanna be the Pirate King, don't you?!" The next words echoed across the battlefield as nearly every combatant froze in disbelief, "I'm the one who'll be the Pirate King!"

 _Interesting!_ Whitebeard thought, not that he would ever show his respect to the rude punk. _But is it just a bluff?_ Veins on his own head visible with fury, he lifted up his bisento and twirled it between his fingers to create a miniature hurricane, and when the end of the weapon came down on the deck this time the force knocked over unwary men down on the ice from dozens of meters away.

The kid never blinked.

And Whitebeard's glare turned into a smile, "You're pretty damn cheeky…I won't show mercy if you slow me down, you spoiled brat!"

"I'm doing what I want to do!" And then he braced himself to run forward, "I'm gonna save Ace myself!"

 **-0-0-0-**

"Yep," Haruta deadpanned, "definitely Ace's little brother."

Apparently suicidal stupidity was somehow genetic. How else would you label staring down their Father's wrath with iron defiance, while loudly declaring that he was a _rival_ of the mighty Whitebeard!? Right up there with daily attempts to assassinate the man despite consistent, and painful, failures. _Of course that begs the question of how their parents lived to reproduce._

"Kid's got guts," one brother commented.

"Yep, ain't backing down. And since Pops hasn't backhanded him yet, that means that he's really got something special there!"

In fact, the two of them seemed to be having a quiet conversation now, casually talking with each other as if their earlier mutual outbursts had never happened. Then, "Ace, I'm coming now!" and the little Supernova was on the move. Racing across the icy battlefield head-on at the confronting army, who were all eager to cut down the newbie.

"Get out of my way!" screamed the teenage fury as he tossed aside a pack of marines with a single strike of both arms, stretching like Ace had described his Devil Fruit.

"Well he's Aces brother all right," Jozu rumbled with a grin at the reckless charge to save someone precious to them, "Third Division, let's get moving! Keep up with the boy and try to follow his lead!"

"YAAAAH!"

 **-0-0-0-**

"One rookie daredevil suddenly takes the lead, and they're acting like a whole new army!" Fleet Admiral Sengoku groused as 14th Division Commander Speed Jiru got into the act, clearing a path while Jinbe and the strangely dressed Revolutionaries followed behind. Yet then the marine leader calmed down, "Not that it matters, our strategy is air-tight."

 **-0-0-0-**

 _What_ are _they going on about?_ Jiru wondered as he stabbed another marine while drawing his men away from Kizaru; taking on an Admiral without more of the Division Commanders was too risky. Yet what was distracting was how the various navy officers charging towards Ace's little brother were yelling about a lot different stuff, and why it was so essential that they kill the rookie. _The parts about the jail break implies that he's responsible for all these prisoners, but how'd he pull it off? Last we heard he was busy punching Celestial Dragons and holding nobles hostage! Never mind how he escaped that, how'd he pull something like that off so quickly!? Even the Golden Lion took a year to break out of Impel Down! What in the six seas happened while we were traveling underwater?_

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In the New World

"So the old man gave the go-ahead, huh?" Shanks casually asked.

"Yes," the fishman master coater tersely answered, trying to hide his nervousness, despite how his team had started working on the _Red Force_ even before it had fully docked into place.

"Alright, we'll stay out of your way," and with that the Emperor turned around and leapt right back onto his ship. Given the timing of Whitebeard's actions, this new process was doubtlessly far faster than conventional coating methods, probably involve some secret from Fishman Island.

"Any problems?" first mate Benn Beckman asked.

"Nah. For all his tough talk, and despite how we clashed, Whitebeard will still want to end this with as little bloodshed as possible for his sons. If another Emperor shows up the marines will cave in, and he can take Ace and go without hurting his pride or any more deaths. He's counting on how I don't want this to escalate any further, and he knows that I know I'm not in the mood to attack him and his crew while they're weak. Especially after we pushed off Kaido."

Beckmann modestly nodded, having been the one to predict when and where the third Emperor would try and make his attack. Having ambushed the ambushers, the Red Hair Pirates had been able to drive off the Beast Pirates, especially by damaging their ships enough to make it impossible to pursue either Whitebeard or Shanks. For any other crew, specifically targeting the rudders and keels of the enemy ships over rough waters would be next to impossible, but Shanks only had the best under him. After that, the weary victors had rushed towards the Red Line for their next major battle.

 **-0-0-0-**

Back in Marineford

Murmurs of surprise echoed through the battlefield at the revelation of Straw Hat's parentage, although reactions varied.

"Y'know, in all those hours and hours Ace blathered on about his kid brother, I don't think he ever mentioned that," Curiel noted as he reloaded his bazookas.

Going along with the humour, another brother who was covering his Division Commander chirped in, "In fairness, we could've fallen asleep when he finally got to that part."

 _The son of Dragon, eh?_ Whitebeard thought with interest. _What exactly happened, what was Ace and the kid's childhood like? Still, maybe we can use this to help convince Ace to get over being Roger's son._

 **-0-0-0-**

Seeing someone take down a Giant, particularly a trained naval Giant, was not really too impressive a sight for the assembled New World Veterans. Not only had their Father's earlier demonstration been much more awesome, but in past battles several of his own sons had beaten such foes with equally casual ease as the rookie.

Still, it was pretty interesting to see a scrawny punk grow a fist about the size of the Giant himself and take him down with a single hit-K.O.

As a bonus, it had gotten Ace to shut up with all that stupid and depressing "Go home, Luffy, I don't want you here" stuff. Frankly, it was uncomfortable for the pirates to hear their favourite brother sounding so… _vulnerable_.

"Hey Ace!" Straw Hat roared as the Giant collapsed, "SAY WHATEVER MEAN STUFF YOU WANT! I'M STILL GONNA SAVE YOU!"

"Oh hell, yeah!" Jozu smirked.

"Your brother speaks for every one of us, Ace!" someone called out.

"Yeah! We're all a part of your family, too!" chimed in another brother.

"And nothing's gonna stop us!" Jiru finished, while their Father smiled in pride.

"Don't you let him die, Marco," the Emperor grinned, with respect he would never let such a little snot-nose see.

With a small chuckle, the Phoenix stepped forward, "Roger that."

 **-0-0-0-**

The tide of battle had shifted once more as the Marines pulled out a hidden ace: an army of duplicates of Kuma the Tyrant, who were all armed with powerful weapons that strongly resembled Admiral Kizaru's Glint-Glint powers.

Sensing how his men were starting to feel demoralized by the appearance of these impassive foes, Whitebeard roared: "Don't lose faith! March on! Charge the plaza with all of your might!" Blunt yet full of emotion, just like the man himself.

No longer restraining himself to fighting with just his fists, Marco formed his wings and rocketed forward to kick his way through another brace of enemies, using only his human feet since that would defeat them without killing the weaklings. Breaking their pride by showing how unimportant they were, was just another bonus. "The only retreat I know is death," he declared, grim determination brushing aside his sleepy appearance. "But I'll rescue Ace before they send me down that road."

Out of earshot of the First Division Commander, the allied Captains voiced similar words as they rallied themselves against these new enemies. For Ace, their friend and brother, they would _all_ lay down their lives if necessary.

 _Still, what else is going on?_ Marco wondered. He was no strategist, his skills lay in fighting tactics, navigation, people management, and other skills, leaving the more complicated planning to his Father. But he was a _lot_ older than he looked, and had learnt a thing or two over the years, and something was off with this battle. The Admirals were keeping back for the most part, laying low while watching for the perfect time to enter the battle to shift it in their favour, while also being mindful of big picture and not getting caught up and distracted by the small stuff. _Just like Pops is. And luring us into the bay makes sense since a lot of their cannons are still working, but the Warlords are hardly exerting themselves, and there've been no surprises except for these new human weapons, despite how they_ knew _we were coming_. That was why he was sticking close to the Moby Dick while his fellow Commanders advanced, to act as a loose bodyguard for Pops, _What else do they have? What's the Buddha schemed up?_

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In defiance of Marco's assessment, one of the Admirals _was_ on the move now. Izo was leading some of his fellow Division Commanders, Kingdew, Haruta, Fossa, Blenheim, Speed Jiru, and Namur, when they all saw the flash of light ahead that signaled the arrival of Admiral Kizaru.

Ace's little brother had drawn ahead of his fellow pirates, enough that one of the World Government's Ultimate Powers had decided that he had to personally eliminate the rookie while he was exposed. _Again the kid is a target, why?_ Izo wondered. Aside from a few failed attempts to kill their Father, the Division Commanders, veterans who were feared as monsters across the world, were largely only dealing with the small fry. _Do they fear his blood that much?_

Without hesitation, one of Kizaru's infamous kicks sent the boy flying back, only to be caught by Jinbe who had been following right behind.

Lining up his pistols, Izo took out a sniper aiming the kid, _Seems a bit winded but the rookie's getting back up, but not moving forward anymore_ , he noted. "Ace's little brother," he snapped, aiming to provoke the kid back into action, "Are you exhausted already!? Well!?"

Both men gasped in surprise, but Jinbe did so with pleasure as he took in his friends suddenly in front of him and Ace's brother, "Whitebeard's Commanders! We won't find any better backup than that!"

"Don't let those admirals stop you! Come with us! The Navy is retreating! Now's our chance! We'll break through their lines!" Izo continued as he drove his message home, "Now follow us!"

"Yeah, let's take 'em!" the kid yelled in agreement, his defiance restored as he charged after the Whitebeard pirates.

 **-0-0-0-**

 _You can judge a man by his enemies_ , Vista thought as he traded blows with the legendary Mihawk, _and that kid's sure got an impressive array of enemies. First Kizaru, and now Hawkeye himself personally targeting him. Even heard some guys yell that he took out Pirate Empress Hancock with a submission hold, the lucky guy!_

But the most impressive fact was that Pops had ordered his sons to keep the kid alive. _Of course, with every moment it becomes clearer to see why Pops told us that, to keep an eye on him even while we're fighting a war to save Ace, when it would be easier to just leave the his brother hogtied back on the_ Moby Dick _where he'd be safe_.

"Shall we put this match on hold, Vista?" Hawkeye asked in his calm yet unnerving voice after disengaging from another clash with his fellow swordsman.

"Much as I'd hate to, we do have other matters to worry about," Vista conceded, and then charged to rejoin his advancing brothers.

 **-0-0-0-**

The War had stalled as Whitebeard was ambushed by one of his own allies, only the Pacifista and those already locked in life-and-death battles failed to have their attention pulled back to the sight of a living legend fall to his knee.

For those who had been raised to believe that this man, no this monster, was the boogeyman that would eat them up if they failed to behave, it shattered many a marine's composure to see that Edward Newgate was no longer an unstoppable force.

For the Whitebeard Pirates, it was the ultimate fear. That one of their own had betrayed them again.

Hating Squard almost as much as he hated himself for letting his guard down, Marco tried to offer help to his Father even as the traitor regained his breath and started his nonsensical rambling: that Pops had betrayed the allied crews, that Marco himself was in on it, and other garbage. Then the upstart Crocodile got in on it, yelling his disbelief that the great Whitebeard had let himself be injured.

 _It's true. He coulda easily blocked that if he was as tough as he used to be. It wouldn't have mattered that it was a surprise attack, or that it came from one of his allies. Has Pops gotten weaker than we thought, and I just didn't notice?_ He remembered how Pops had ripped off the last of his medical instruments after sending his nurses away. _He's letting his health get worse and worse!_

And then all of Marineford bore witness to the equal and uncompromising love Whitebeard held for all his sons, as he forgave and hugged the unruly Squard. Despite this, Marco's attention was turned to sensing for any further threats while hampered by his own guilt at failing to notice how close Pops was to dying.

He was shaken out of his dark thoughts as Squard gave a name: Akainu.

The man responsible for twisting the thoughts of a brother, for making him forget how much Whitebeard loved his family, his _entire_ family, and making him hurt Pops, both in body and pride. _You'll pay for this, Akainu!_ Marco vowed.

Whitebeard stepped around Squard as he moved forward, ready to tear down Marineford for this insult alone, " **You think I would ever sell out my sons!?** " he growled so loud that everyone heard it, and then punched the air. To the sides the encircling glaciers were shattered, allowing for his allies to escape if they wanted to. _I'm too old, I should have seen how that hampered them beforehand. Everyone's depending on me to keep an eye on the big picture, and I blew it! But we can't stop now!_ His next words tore deep into the hearts of his sons, shredding their final doubts.

"IF YOU'RE PIRATES, THEN DECIDE FOR YOURSELVES WHAT TO BELIEVE!"

He ignored Squard's sobs out of respect for his dignity, even as the allied Captains cried out their loyalty.

 _A weak man, you say?_ Whitebeard thought at Crocodile the former Warlord and past enemy. _Give me a break, Alligator-kid! I'm only one man, with one heart. They may call me a demon or a monster or whatever, but I won't be the strongest forever. If I can help just one young life rise to the future, then it will be enough for me_. No more standing back, now was the time for him to take action to save Ace and protect the lives of all his other sons, and his words thundered out with the ferocity of a storm.

"THOSE WILLING TO COME WITH ME, FOLLOW ME EVEN IF IT COSTS YOU YOUR LIVES!"

And the world's strongest man leapt into the fray.

 **-0-0-0-**

It was almost as if Whitebeard was playing with the vice-admiral Giant, but he was merely conserving his strength for what was yet to come. It was still no contest however. Someone like Shanks might be able to force his fellow Emperor into using both hands to swing his bisento, but this overambitious punk was unworthy of even facing even the lowliest of that upstart's crew.

Up on the scaffold in the plaza, Garp and Sengoku looked on in resignation at the familiar sight of their comrades being torn apart like bugs before Whitebeard's wrath. As a consequence of the World Government's unofficial decision to leave the man alone, none of the newer generations had any real experience fighting an Emperor and his armies.

The modern Admirals? They were men who when younger had _survived_ an encounter with an Emperor. Only the Buddha and the Fist had any real experience fighting prolonged battles with such monsters on equal grounds. _And of course, this time retreat isn't an option_ , Sengoku knew.

Yet what kept coming to Sengoku's mind as he had prepared to close the book on the story of Edward Newgate, was the same secret, private thought he had for the man every time he thought about him: _What a waste._

 _If only he had turned his brilliance towards Justice_. Cipher Pol had dissected the man's life, they knew how he had grown up in the backstreets of one of the Blues, and how from the very start he had distinguished himself amongst the street kids for his strength and ingenuity. Sengoku had read several older accounts, of a burly young boy with a knife tied to the end of a stick fending off entire gangs. _And all on his own, because he had no one else, just like Roger as child, growing up alone in the backstreets of Loguetown._

 _Roger conquered the seas, and Whitebeard built an empire out of riffraff and all but ruled over the pirates in their Golden Age. Someone like him could have brought peace and prosperity all across the world, like all three of our Admirals did after they clawed their way out of poverty! But no, instead both of them chose to be pirates and selfishly wasted their talents on greed and violence! Destroying whatever or whoever so much as annoyed them! Whatever good they did for those living in the New World, it doesn't balance against the threat their examples posed. But here and today, it finally ends._

 **-0-0-0-**

The New World was fraught with unnatural and hazardous phenomena. A place where only the strong, the skilled, and the _lucky_ survived. Yet this surpassed the worst that the Whitebeard Pirates had ever endured.

They had been suckered by the frozen water into charging in to the bay, trusting that the firm surface would endure, and now it was melting before them, turning the water below into a boiling cauldron to either drown them or scald them alive. Endlessly the burning rocks poured down at them, and they could only watch in horror as the _Moby Dick_ , their home, their one safe harbour in the madness of this world, was consumed before their eyes. They had failed to protect her, to keep faith with her as she had done so for them.

But through all of this, one rookie kept advancing, screaming out the name of the man they all loved, spurring on others in defiance of the inevitable.

It was a Forlorn Hope, but they would not falter, they would not quit. They would follow Ace's little brother to achieve the impossible.

 **-0-0-0-**

It was impossible.

Their efforts to reach the opening meant they were funneling themselves through relentless cannon fire, and not even the Division Commanders, aside from Jozu and Marco, could survive a direct hit from that.

Even the sight of Little Oars Jr. alive and well could only temporarily disperse their despair. And then something shot overhead.

An airborne current of water rocketed over the seemingly indestructible enclosing walls and arched down into the plaza, but even those without haki had caught a glimpse of who was riding within it.

The Whitebeard Pirates watched in awe as Straw Hat Luffy entered the plaza, ready to wage a one-man war against the full wrath of the Navy and Warlords, landing right before the Three Admirals themselves. A battle hidden from their view against impossible odds.

Yet all heard his defiant roar: " **Give Ace back!** "

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:  
For those of you who are curious, the dialogue is crafted together from the dubbed and subbed anime, along with the printed manga. I did add some lines in of course, but did not change any of the original content. Additional scenes are drawn from the anime. **

**When Marco thinks of Crocodile as a Warlord, yes the man is technically an Ex-Warlord, but this is the Phoenix's way of acknowledging the strength behind the title, and thus Luffy's strength. And yeah, he forgot about Shiki the Golden Lion also escaping from Impel Down, but only because of the heat of the moment.**

 **Readers would be correct to point out that Shank's is actually the second owner of that straw hat, but since we do not know when Roger gave it him, it would not be unreasonable for Whitebeard to be unaware of this fact.**

 **Some readers may be unaware, but Oda did pictures of the Admirals as children, and they are all clearly shown having crawled out of poverty to such august positions. Very impressive. Can find copies of these pictures on the wiki.**

 **Sorry to leave you there, but given the sheer length of the arc, I had to break it up into three chapters.**

 **-0-**

 **Recommended fics:**

 **"** **Captain Strawhat" by K.**

 **"** **Stillness before the Storm" by akurosa**

 **"** **Protecting His Own" by charactersreadthestorysfan**

 **"** **2 years, 30 sentences" by XXCaptainUsoppXX**

 **"** **A Crew's Love" by ShivaVixen**

 **"** **Moby Dick's Tales: Little Finger" by Freefan1412**

 **"** **Next Time Won't You Sing With Me" by akurosa**

 **"** **The Adventure of the Man of D" lalunaticscribe**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	7. Marineford, Part 2 of 3

I do not own One Piece

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Beta read by the wonderful Karukyuu

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Rise from the Ashes

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Chapter 7: Marineford, Part 2 of 3

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super fangirl:pls pls pls update...pls...i love this story,it is my new obsession...pleaseeee can you try posting the whole of marinefold from the whitebeard pirates view all together(sorry if i am demanding too much and if you are busy, you can ignore me) i must commend your writing skills,but pretty please with cherry and nutella on the top,update soon.

Black' Victor Cachat: Well when you invoked Nutella, how could I say no? :-) Here is chapter 7, and sorry for the wait.

 **-0-0-0-**

 ** _Before…_**

 _One snot-nosed rookie against the Three Admirals, it's a miracle he's still alive. Now to keep it that way_.

Burning with blue and gold fire, Marco the Phoenix kicked a looming Admiral Aokiji away from Ace's little brother.

"Thanks, you saved me," the young man said to his savior, clasping a bloody arm.

"Ah, don't mention it," the First Division Commander reassured him. _Seriously, no need, thanks to your suicidal attack, followed by Crocodile of all people and I stepping in, everyone's too focused on us and not on Oars and the real threat he poses_. Not that he would say it aloud, no need to let the kid get cocky right now.

Things were still dire: Ace had only escaped death by the slimmest of chances, and the rest of the family remained imperiled. But they could still pull this off, and Pop's back-up plan depended heavily upon the wounded Oars Jr. being free to pull in the Whitebeard Pirates' secret fifth ship. If Straw Hat had not come in so flashily and noisily, then a Warlord or Admiral would have already killed their gigantic brother. So far however, the three pirates were keeping attention focused upon them, but Marco knew that the best they could hope for was to serve as a distraction. His haki was not powerful enough for his to hack up one of the Government's Three Ultimate Powers, not with the Admirals' own monstrous haki that he would have to wear down first, so all he could do was keep kicking them away. In a one-on-one fight he could probably win, but with all of the other Navy officers supporting them, temporarily removing them from the fight was for the best.

 _Pop's got a plan though, and we've got all the vice-admirals, warlords, and admirals focused on the three of us since they think they've still got the others 'trapped,' so we've got to keep it up_. A quick glance with haki revealed that Crocodile was still fighting it out with Doflamingo, keeping the Heavenly Demon occupied and distracting the nearby marines as they struggled to even stay upright as the two titans went at it. As for Ace's kid brother, despite his wounds, despite everything that he had already gone through – _And who knows what he endured in Impel Down!_ —there was no question he was Ace's sibling as he kept moving forward. The different blood in their veins didn't mean squat. _We have_ so _got to adopt him. Heck, we practically already have_.

 **-0-0-0-**

The mighty Oars Jr. fell once more, and Whitebeard's heart nearly burst at his son's commitment at saving a brother. The impact of the giant body hitting the ground shook pirate and marine alike, yet the Emperor's grim appearance never faltered. Calmly he stalked forward through a path his sons had left open for him atop the deck of their reserve ship.

Everyone within the plaza was motionless as he stood there, until after an endless moment he leapt down.

Edward Newgate had set foot on the shore of Marineford.

"Stand back, my sons," he ordered, and brought back his bisento, and the air around the blade seem to simmer into a ball of distorted air. And then he unleashed it.

An airborne earthquake scattered the rabble before him, and now the Division Commanders leapt down in front of their Chieftain, Captain, and Father.

"MEN!" roared Whitebeard so that all could hear his intent, "RESCUE ACE, AND DESTROY THE NAVY!"

The line had been drawn, too much had already been paid. For pirates or marines it would either be total victory or utter defeat, no quarter asked or expected from either side.

To the death.

And the plaza echoed with the roaring cheers of his sons.

 **-0-0-0-**

Despite efforts to try and stay with Ace's little brother, Marco found himself getting separated from the kid since he kept recklessly running ahead, and because the more junior navy officers kept trying to swarm over Marco, but his fists and feet just kept beating them aside. Up ahead he could see the brat doing the same, as bodies of marines kept flying into the air around him, with a fighting style that was as wild and unstoppable as the user. _He's still a little too green and definitely too reckless, but that might be just desperation clouding him. Even so, give him a few more years and he might even surpass Ace!_ Marco marveled.

Unfortunately, the kid was also showing signs of getting worn ragged, so much so that he missed the three vice-admirals coming at him from behind. "Well that's just not fair," the Phoenix drawled at the marines as he intercepted them without Ace's brother even noticing.

Ducking under a sword-swing from an unimpressive older and balding man he believed to be named Comil, he took him out of the fight with an uppercut. Yamakaji of Navy HQ was more of a concern though as Marco dodged around the cigar-smoker's swings, with his Observation haki making him snap up his arm to grab a blow from behind, having recognized the presence of his attacker and his signature weapon. _Yep, a bamboo stick. Should've stayed at G-5, Vergo_. Snatching the weapon away and snapping it with a quick flex of his arms, Marco's kick propelled the stunned and messy-faced backstabber away from the fight, leaving the First Division Commander free to focus on Yamakaji.

A barrage of cannon-fire suddenly separated them as opportunistic soldiers and pirates tried to take out a leading enemy, both sides convinced that _their_ champion would emerge from the explosions unscathed. Jumping back a little further, Marco stopped to backtrack to the figure of Oars. Always towering and fearsome but with a soft heart underneath, his brother looked almost pitiful now as he lay upon the ground, yet his inner voice still whispered, and Marco was confident their oversized brother would be fine. "Oars, thanks pal," the Phoenix said with a serious frown, and then turned back to the battle ahead. He would have to find the right opening when all the Admirals were distracted to fly to the scaffold, then knock back the marines on top long enough to tear off the planks underneath Ace –and holding those chains in place— and carry them both to safety behind Pops.

Sanity had no place in the New World.

 **-0-0-0-**

"Go! I'll fight!"

"I'm counting on you, son," Whitebeard brusquely said, but Jozu knew from the tone that Pops was giving him his full support.

On the ground Admiral Aokiji finished reforming with his Ice Logia powers, a line of blood coming out of his mouth beneath his uncharacteristic frown. Impassively staring down at his foe, unafraid of the challenge before him, Jozu was more concerned about his Father. _Pop's haki did nothing to Aokiji despite stabbing him right through; the man's own Armament Haki was able to overpower it. But mine on the other hand was enough to cause internal damage!? No, Pops is worse off than we thought, he's having trouble focusing his haki! We've got to finish this quick!_

And with that the Third Division Commander thundered forward like a mountain at the human glacier.

 **-0-0-0-**

Once more Admiral Kizaru had deliberately sought out that one particular rookie. Even making a point of verbally toying with him despite how the Whitebeard Pirates were wreaking havoc within the plaza, before giving one of his infamous lightspeed kicks to the bloody and still boy.

Snapping forward, Whitebeard intercepted the flying form of Ace's little brother and grabbed him mid-air.

"Ace," the kid gasped out, seemingly unaware of how he was hanging upside down within someone's giant grip, his eyes rolled back in his head.

"It's sad to see how low…the mighty Whitebeard has sunk," Kizaru drawled, standing back from where he had kicked the young pirate, making no move to attack. "How could a leader of your standing…let a piece of trash like that lead your charge."

The Emperor refused to dignify that insult with a response. It was clear to everyone how much this piece of "trash" was dictating the flow of battle. _Hopelessly outmatched, easy prey for some of the men here if they had the chance to focus their full attention upon him, more stupid than brave, but still alive_. _Imagine what he will be like when he starts to gain experience._

He was briefly distracted by the concerned and oversized head of Ivankov of the Revolutionary Army, yelling his concern for the brat, but then Whitebeard realized that the kid in question was trying to talk to him. "Huff…Huff…Let me go! Old Man! I…" he gasped out.

 _So he's finally at his limit_ , the still silent Whitebeard decided. Lightly tossing him towards one of his sons, Harji of the 5th Division, "He's done more than his share," he informed them. "Get him patched up."

"Aye, aye."

 _Understatement_ , Whitebeard thought to himself as he stomped forward. _That punk might not want to be a part of my crew or my son, although in a different way than his brother did, but we couldn't have gotten this far without him. At the very least Ace would already be dead_.

An offer of protection would probably be taken as an insult, but maybe letting the snot-nose stay with his sons so that he could learn haki? _Maybe, but first let's save Ace_.

Yet his thoughts were further interrupted as the rookie in question was struggling, to get back up and fight, desperately yelling how he had to save his brother before collapsing to the ground. Despite what should have been a pathetic sight, all of the pirates within earshot were moved by the dedication he was displaying, feeling their hearts go out to him. Truly here was another who understood what family meant.

"You're nothing but a mass of spirit!" Whitebeard said aloud, his expression showing none of his inner feelings. "All you can do is talk big! Pathetic young fool!"

"I love idiots like you!"

And with that, Whitebeard stamped towards the army between him and Ace. "Those with no regard for their lives, advance!" he called out to the marines.

Yet someone answered his challenge, as Akainu appeared in front of him and blocked the pirate's attempt to unleash another earthquake fist with a foot of molten lava and haki. "You, you're always sailing around wreaking havoc, but now it's over!"

With a chuckle Whitebeard merely said, "That's what you think," emphasizing every word in a way that would have chilled a lesser man's nerve.

 **-0-0-0-**

With the war confined to such a small place, the battle was escalating to even greater heights as both sides became increasingly desperate with the Whitebeard Pirates being so close to Ace.

Division Commanders and Vice-Admirals clashed against each other and were then forced to withdraw as the battle shifted. Skilled and heroic marines threw themselves against veteran survivors of the New World. Even the Warlords were forced to take part, and more than once a Division Commander had to desperately divert the attentions of Boa Hancock who was mowing down both marines and pirate alike as she worked her way to the rear of their lines.

Kizaru was contenting himself with striking down the lesser pirates until Division Commander Rakuyo attacked the man, with more on their way to keep him occupied.

Then the madness surged again as the allied pirate captains finished making their way around the encircling wall to throw their weight in, with the Pacifista coming up behind them.

This was no ship-to-ship conflict or boarding action like they were all used to; for the first time in far too long, two mighty armies were hacking and clawing against each other with all of the finesse of a barroom brawl where everyone's suddenly pulled out a knife.

 **-0-0-0-**

Safely behind his Family as they fought, Marco gave one final assessment with his haki and eyes, with his gut weighing in as well, _No better time, all the admirals, vice-admirals, and Warlords are distracted, this is it!_ For one of the greatest advantages the Whitebeard Pirates had in such tight confines was that none of their powerhouses possessed large-scale attacks, except for their Father, while the Admirals and Warlords had to constrain their full potential for fear of wiping out most of their own marines. _Not that Hancock seems really concerned about that…_

Running forward to add to his momentum, he silently called out, _Hang on Ace, I'm coming for ya-yoi!_ And then he went Phoenix, his beautiful form rocketing overhead with only a few pitiful and impotent musket shots coming his way.

 _Can't get cocky, there's still Sengoku and Garp, but I—_

Then a large and muscular figure was before him, and the next thing Marco knew he was in a small crater down on the ground. His injuries were already gone, but the pain from the blow told him that despite his healing factor, he could have actually died right there if any more force and haki had been put into it.

 _We were wrong_ , Marco bitterly realized as the marines took heart and the pirates wavered, _he hasn't gotten rusty. Garp's as terrifying as ever._

For it was clearly Garp the Fist who had taken him out. Despite how no one had really heard anything from him in the past few years. Or that instead of a Devil Fruit that could wipe out a country, he chose to rely entirely upon his aged muscles. No, it was clear that the 'Hero of the Navy' was still easily on par with one of the admirals. Or maybe even Whitebeard himself given how they had both been rivals of Gold Roger. And now the scowling man was declaring that anyone trying to get to the scaffold would have to get past him…

 **-0-0-0-**

"We didn't make it all the way here just to lose to an old man!" Whitebeard roared out, and then quieter yet no less forceful, "Legends ain't nothing but words!"

"I might say the same thing to you, Whitebeard," Akainu growled back "Your glory days are just a dying memory now!"

 **-0-0-0-**

Their spirits rallied, the pirates continued their charge, their cries echoing across the battlefield.

"Don't let them get you down, Ace!"

"Yeah, we won't leave you!"

"We're brothers! We stick together!"

And they would willingly drown themselves in their own blood to do it.

 **-0-0-0-**

It was a war between natural disasters: a living volcano versus a human earthquake.

Again and again Akainu and Whitebeard threw their fury and will at each other, breaking up the ground or melting it between their blows.

Yet nature favours the strong, and it was the pirate who fell to his knees, coughing up blood as he clutched his weak and traitorous heart in anguish.

"Not even you can defeat old age…Whitebeard!" Akainu calmly noted as his right hand burned with molten fire.

 **-0-0-0-**

Blindly Marco charged towards his Father to render aid before Akainu stopped his mocking and attacked, but then two beams of light and pain stabbed through him.

"All it takes to lose is to be caught off guard!" he heard a voice say

 **-0-0-0-**

"Marco!" Jozu yelled, and then felt cold and panic.

"You looked away just now," Aokiji lectured as the Third Division Commander's mind went dark.

 **-0-0-0-**

Unable to move even as he saw the attack coming, Whitebeard took the fist of magma right on and into his chest, cauterizing the wound as the arm was buried in past the wrist and cutting off blood, mutilating organs. Desperately his will fought against his brains desire to shut itself down to hide from the _pain_.

 **-0-0-0-**

With all of this happening, it was understandable that none of the big players were paying attention to Ace's wild little brother. After all, that he was still alive after having two different admirals beating on him was a miracle in itself, he certainly would not be fighting any more.

So when Strat Hat pulled himself back up, those who witnessed it would later recount what they had seen with hushed voices.

How the rookie who could no longer move was impaled by Ivankov's strange nails, but then he stood tall and let loose a spine-chilling roar of defiance. And love.

A sound that carried a declaration that he would not stop going until his precious brother was safe and well, no matter the cost to himself.

It was something they had heard before in the heat of battle from their own comrades, as they kept getting back up to fight for their family.

 **-0-0-0-**

Word slowly spread throughout the battlefield that Ace's little brother was fighting again, as the more observant Division Commanders and Pirate Captains noted how an unusual number of marines were diverting towards one spot. More and more they could hear voices yelling to kill Straw Hat, despite how the kid was supposed to be near comatose back in the rear while receiving emergency first aid. Moreover, given the ongoing cries to bring him down, it was clear the marines were having a surprisingly difficult time against someone supposed to be half-dead.

If they had not seen it with their own senses, the pirates who saw the kid fighting would never have believed that he had already fought countless marines and had been badly wounded fighting two admirals.

Instead he fought on like he was possessed.

 **-0-0-0-**

Marco twitched and spasmed in pain as he lay on the ground, desperately trying to heal despite the sea-prism handcuff shackled to one wrist. _Nicked heart and gut wound_ , he assessed. _Idiot! I got too cocky!_

Arrogantly believing that he could just regenerate despite Kizaru continuing to shoot him in the back, he had dropped his guard enough for a vice-admiral to effectively cripple him with sea-prism handcuffs.

"It's over," Vice-Admiral Onigumo flatly informed him as he drew back his eight sabers for the final blow. "Die-phhk!"

Pushing back on his arms, Marco's foot drilled into the marine's chest faster than his haki could warn him. With a quick spin, his knee followed suit into the man's chin. "Sorry, what was that!?" Marco hissed, yet while he staggered, the vice-admiral was still in the fight.

Swinging his eight blades in a pattern meant to confuse and overwhelm his opponents, Marco danced around them while firing out his fists like a machine gun. To anyone ignorant of haki, it appeared as if he were meeting the sword blades with nothing but his bare hands as Onigumo struggled to block each blow.

Seeking to help, Kizaru fired more of his lasers at Marco, but the Phoenix had been waiting for that, knowing that Onigumo would expect him to try and get some distance, not leap _closer_ towards the vice-admiral. Sweeping his foot between the sabres by a hair's breadth, Marco kicked the man through the air and over his own men to the back of the battle.

 _Gotta keep moving. Gotta focus_ , he thought as he coughed up some blood, grateful that Kizaru's attack had cauterized the wound even as it had burned through his body. As quick as that fight had been, the intensity had taken its toll. _I can't fight an admiral like this, but I can still fight. And if I can get to the other Commanders, they might be able to do something about this handcuff!_

With a burst of speed that tore at his chest, Marco disappeared.  
Keeping any reaction hidden under his usual façade, Kizaru turned his attention back to the rest of the pirates.

 **-0-0-0-**

Up ahead, Whitebeard grasped his smoldering, smoking wound, still standing but not moving.

And then the jackals and vultures attacked. Wave after wave of marines threw themselves at Whitebeard, their bullets digging into his flesh while others leapt upon him to stab him with their swords right through to his back. Cannon fire hammered at his head.

Like a might oak finally felled by the hurricane, he started to fall backwards even as the pirates desperately hurled themselves forward to rescue their Father.

Then his mighty feet checked his fall, cracking the ground beneath him, and a voice made them all, pirates and marines, freeze, "Stay back!"

Slowly and ominous Whitebeard straightened himself forward, the movement lazily blowing away the smoke obscuring his face as he called out: "Do these guys really think...they can kill me so easily?! I don't need any help. I...I..." and the clouds fell away as he stood tall and roaring to the heavens, "I AM WHITEBEARD!" And his next blow did not just knock aside the mass of marines in front of him, he hurled them into the sky with nothing but his bisento and awesome strength, bringing them raining down upon their comrades.

Yet the very exertion opened up the barely cauterized wound in his chest as blood spilled out, the hole nearly eating up the old scar that Gold Roger had given him, and it seemed as if that had finally pushed his might frame past its limits as he stumbled forward, struggling to stay upright. "I know exactly…what it would mean…if I were to die! That's all the more reason to stay alive…until I've guided my sons toward a brighter future!" And then his golden eyes looked up to specifically address black ones full of emotion, "Right, Ace?"

Taking advantage of the Emperor's distraction, the marines rallied again, this time trying to encircle him from the rear at his exposed back, yet suddenly they were thrown back with a vicious fury.

"Wh-what's with these guys!?" one officer gasped out, "Covering Whitebeard's back like that...Do they intended to die together with Whitebeard?!"

For the Division Commanders, sans Marco and Jozu, had finally regrouped along with Whitebeard

"You people will never understand!" Jinbe snarled.

"We will protect the Old Man's pride!" Vista declared.

Seeing the futility of telling them to leave him be, all Whitebeard could say to them was: "You're too blasted loyal, you little fools." But they all heard the words: _I love you, my sons._

"If it's the future you want to see, I'll give you a glimpse right now! Whitebeard!" Fleet Admiral Sengoku called out, projecting his voice so that everyone could clearly hear, drawing their attention to the two fresh executioners who hefted their blades up to behead Portgas D. Ace, bearer of Pirate King's sins. The young man's eyes were closed in acceptance, but unafraid as he faced death with dignity.

"That won't work!" Whitebeard roared. "Do you really think that would stop—" yet even now his body rebelled against him, as he found himself choking on his own blood as his vision suddenly blurred, falling to his knee as he coughed out the fluid.

In that moment, in the depth of his heart, Whitebeard knew that he would be unable to save Ace in time. That his son would die before his blurry eyes.

 **-0-0-0-**

And then everyone felt icy talons crushing at their minds and spine.

The strong shook off this foreign will, but each and every man and woman at Marineford felt it, and would never forget it.

A scythe that ruthlessly reaped those who were too weak to stand before it.

In the silence and stillness that followed they caught the echo of the desperate scream that had come with this feeling: " **STOP!** "

Instinctively they turned to the source and saw one angry young man still running forward, leaping over the piles of unmoving marines who had fallen before the onslaught of _dominance_ he had unleashed…including the would-be executioners of Fire-Fist Ace.

As one, all of the mighty took note of the boy and his power: Straw Hat Luffy.

In that moment, the senior marines and most of the Whitebeard Pirates realized what Ace's little brother was: a Conqueror. An honest to goodness Conqueror. A Supreme King. A Conquering King. One with the qualities of a King. One of the Chosen. So many terms to describe an instinctive, undefinable concept of one born burning with raw charisma and the drive to rise and command, regardless of who got in his or her way. To claim a kingdom for their own.

Even amongst the tens of thousands of surviving warriors present in Marineford, the cream of the world's finest, there were only the barest handful of such individuals: Boa Hancock, Donquixote Doflamingo, and Edward Newgate, all of whom were terrors who could crush entire nations beneath their forces.

"Luffy…" breathed out one of those Conquerors in both shock and lust. _I knew you were a Conqueror too, but to do_ this _!?_ But then Hancock's more rational side which had propelled her so far caught up with her. _Something's wrong. The previous time your brother was nearly killed it was just as desperate as it is now, and you screamed for them to stop too but nothing happened. And yet you've already demonstrated this ability before, against my sisters. Is it that unstable still, or did this battle unlocked something further within you?_ Truly her husband was the only worthy man alive.

"Luffy…" breathed out another of those Conquerors, albeit one whose use of it was largely unknown, "you too?" In that moment Ace was finally forced to recognize, deep in his heart, that Luffy was no longer his crybaby brother. _He's grown up, whether entirely on his own or with the help of his crew, his friends, he's becomes someone truly incredible._ _Someone who'll shake the world!_

 _Of course I'll still be stronger than you,_ _'cause I'll always be there to protect you_ , he thought as a little bit of his cocky ego relit.

"That was the Conqueror's Spirit, like Pops and Shanks use," Fossa said, speaking aloud what everyone else was thinking. Grasping his bleeding chest wounds, weary from the seastone shackle on his wrist, Marco voiced the other major thought, "Dang, that kid's full of surprises, huh?"

The other Division Commanders were also looking the rookie in a new light, with beads of sweat adorning some of their brows as they realized the terrifying potential the scrawny runt possessed. The future they knew lay ahead of him. Such a person, if properly trained, could single-handedly overwhelm anything from an army to an entire nation, and their sheer drive meant they almost always felt compelled to rock the world. Even here, the men and women at Marineford were made up of the greatest fighters in the world, and for any of them to be so weak in comparison to a mere rookie that he could overcome them so readily…

Alternatively, that raw charisma could _assemble_ an army. Drawing together powerful warriors to his banner to fight and serve him. Nations would collapse, but the people would cheer before the promises such a figure would offer.

Truly he would be terrifying when he got older. A belief that the Navy had also concluded, as the marines began yelling for the kid's head specifically. Afraid of a world where he roamed free upon the seas.

 _That boy!_ Whitebeard gasped to himself.

 **-0-**

 _"_ _I see people with that "D." from time to time. There's one called Teach in my crew. What is that "D." thing anyways?"_

 _"_ _You wanna know? Then I'll tell you. A long time ago…"_

 **-0-**

More and more marines were attacking Ace's brother now, but he kept going heedless of the threats before him, with Emporio Invankov fighting alongside him.

Unnatural powers cracked the air itself and the ensuing explosion of air tore into those attacking the duo, announcing the return of Whitebeard to fighting form, and his barked out his signature laugh, "Gu ra ra ra ra! You cowardly marines... You're really _that_ afraid of one kid? What happened to taking my head!?"

"Damn it's Whitebeard!" one marine said as he stated the obvious, their fervor for killing Straw Hat making them blind to the original threat. "He's earned his reputation as a monster! Take him down at all costs!"

"Fine by me!" he smirked, eager to use his renewed spirit to both crush more of the Navy, and draw some attention away from the rookie. Again and again they swarmed at him, but his strength was back and his Devil Fruit Powers were cutting loose in every direction but his Sons, the scaffold with Ace, and Ace's supposedly weak little brother. Ha!

Contemptuously the Emperor swept away more and more of the opportunistic vermin who actually thought he was just about to drop dead. The savagery of this however paled before the struggle within, as Whitebeard grappled with what might be the most important decision he had made since deciding to destroy the Navy for threatening one of his precious children.

The Whitebeard Pirates fought fiercely around their Captain, but they were too ragged and uncoordinated as they threw themselves with rage and desperation at the marines, who still maintained their ranks and discipline. Their training helped them provide each other with overlapping support, while their Admirals remained largely fresh as they evaluated the flow of the battle.

Then Whitebeard paused to hack up another blob of blood, while First Division Commander Marco struggled to stay alive with his healings shackled by one handcuff. Despite the sapping of his strength, the Phoenix was still more than a match for the average Navy HQ marine, but it was taking its toll. _I can't risk just cutting my hand off either, the shock might kill me first, and no telling if it'd heal when I get my Devil Fruit Powers back!_ His abilities were just too rare and ill documented to gamble.

"Pops!" 15th Division Commander Fossa warned. "With those wounds, you won't last longer at this pace!"

 _He's right_ , Whitebeard knew, as well as what he had to do next, and his voice thundered out.

"MEN!"

All of his sons turned to him at this, a shiver going up their spines at _something_ they heard in his voice.

"AS OF THIS MOMENT...LEND STRAW HAT LUFFY...ALL OF YOUR STRENGTH!"

Shivering with exertion, he paused, _Give it your best shot, boy! If you're one of the successors to the "Will of D.", show me what kind of era you will create!_ _Even if my days are numbered I can see tomorrow blazing through this battlefield!_

Doma, McGuy, the Decalvan Brothers, Andre and all the other allied Captains froze at the unthinkable order.

Never, not in a hundred years, could they have foreseen such a command.

There was one thing Whitebeard had never done: entrust the safety of his children to anyone who was not family. And yet, for some reason, their Father had chosen to overlook his mighty Division Commanders and infamous allies, and place his faith in the hands of a complete stranger. A punk rookie he had only met this day, even if he _was_ Ace's little brother.

This was who he had chosen to lead the spear thrust to save Ace and end this madness?

But their eyes took in all of the marines he had downed with the sheer force of his Will.

They remembered everything else he had done.

And then the allied captains saw how now even the vice-admirals were closing in on Ace's little brother, no, on Straw Hat Luffy, redoubling their efforts as an uncharacteristically concerned Admiral Kizaru snapped out orders to kill the threat while still in his infancy, and their bodies _moved_.

An honour guard of death surrounded their Father's chosen champion, as the fearsome allies of Edward Newgate the Whitebeard, fought alongside Straw Hat Luffy as he raced for the execution platform, with every available pirate following behind.

As for Whitebeard himself, he stayed behind to support the advance, drawing fire and attention as he wreaked havoc upon the marines.

 **-0-0-0-**

Berserker-like as they ran forward heedless of cannon, musket or sword, the horde of pirates were shoving through the marines now, breaking through their formations while the vice-admirals fought for their lives against the veterans of the New World. One by one the allied Captains voiced their support to Straw Hat Luffy, and while they could all see the surprise and confusion on his face, they also saw he was not overwhelmed by the accolades.

The more worldly and experienced, Ivankov had a better grasp of the situation, "This is serious, Straw-Hat-boy! The world's mightiest pirate is trying to test vyou! Whitbeard has put his faith in vyou! This is amazing! Vi'm asking if vyou have the resolve to live up to his expectations!"

"I don't care about that Whitebeard-guy," Straw Hat declared in turn, "I've only had one reason to come here" and with this he looked up at the execution stand where an open mouth Ace was clearly visible, "since the beginning."

And the Captains silently gave their approval.

 **-0-0-0-**

The mayhem only grew as Hawkeye sought out Straw Hat once more, but the arrival of Crocodile in the young man's defense kept him safe, as the Warlord and ex-Warlord devastated everyone around them as they clashed. Moria was also engaged, but he was content with taking on the weaker combatants.

Fortunately Hancock appeared to be lying low again, and for some reason the remaining Pacifista were being tied up too, keeping them from targeting the pirates, especially Luffy.

 **-0-0-0-**

Ace's mind was almost overwhelmed with everything that he had seen today, the sick horror of so many of his crew and family dying was fighting against the warmth their love gave him. His ship-brothers, and his brother Luffy. His weakling kid brother who could barely throw a punch when they had parted ways in the East Blue, but now look at him!

 _Luffy_ , Ace thought, _you can do it_. Not save his pathetic big brother, Ace's concerns were not for that, but survive this nightmare and go on to become the Pirate King.

 **-0-0-0-**

Those vice-admirals not locked in battle were barking orders for all they were worth, rallying their men to stop the fanatical pirates who were both shielding Straw Hat Luffy and clearing a path clear to the scaffold, while Inazuma of the Revolutionary Army created a ramp straight to Fire-Fist.

"Fools!" yelled Vice-Admiral Stainless, "Use your guns! Cannoneers open fire!" and the obedient soldiers launched every cannonball they had at the improvised bridge.

But the Division Commanders had arrived.

They had been as aghast as anyone, in Marco's case perhaps more, but the habit of obedience lent urgency to their actions as they rushed forward to catch up. And unlike their allies, they had spent much of this war fighting alongside Straw Hat Luffy, and thus were quicker to both appreciate and accept Pop's decision.

Leaving Jinbe, a man who was not an ally and thus not bound to obey their Father, to protect Whitebeard's back and pride, they intercepted every projectile. They had Straw Hat's back, striking down the desperate marines who were breaking through the lines to try and kill him.

Struggling to keep standing with his wounds, Marco took in the situation with his eyes and haki. Pops had surged forward to keep Kizaru occupied, and it seemed that neither Aokiji nor Akainu were making a move yet, doubtless saving their strength for the perfect moment. _And they're probably leaving it to_ them _!_ Marco thought while panting, remembering his own failure to save Ace. _Don't forget, Straw Hat, there's still Garp and Sengoku!_

 **-0-0-0-**

It was a clash between a living legend and one just making his name, a story for the ages as grandfather faced off against grandson. A clash of wills and fists. But the one with the high-ground, the one guarding access to Ace, was Monkey D. Garp. Garp the Fist. Garp the Hero.

What happened between them was so fast and so distant that maybe only Ace and Sengoku caught all that happened, but all the marines and pirates below knew, was that Straw Hat's fist struck true, and to the horror of the marines and the amazement of the pirates, the Hero fell to the earth.

Knocking down the only other man besides Whitebeard to truly threaten the one-and-only Pirate King, and just kept running towards his goal without a second thought, racing up the crumbling bridge to the top.

 _Garp hesitated_ , Marco knew, _but only because it was his grandson. Yet even then, if the kid had been even the slightest bit slower, it wouldn't have mattered. If he wasn't who he was, he wouldn't have even reached this far._

 _…_ _And where in the six seas did he get that key for Ace's handcuffs!?_

With a clatter the shackles hit the ground, as a protective shield of fire burst from the Fire-Fist as he announced his return.

His little brother had saved him, and now he would get him and the rest of his family away from this place.

 **-0-0-0-**

The two brothers fighting together were like a bright beacon for the pirates. Their flawless teamwork raising cries of joy and laughter from the spectators, and pain and screams from those who got in their way.

Flames licking at his flesh, Ace, the prodigal son, tore through the marines, proving to all that he was worthy, at least in the future, of being Whitebeard's successor. As for Straw Hat, the man who performed the Impossible, well, the cheering freemen had to admit that maybe he had the right to yell back at their Father after all. Or at least in a few more years, as opposed to their original answer of "Never."

 **-0-0-0-**

 _Now is the time_ , Whitebeard decided, as Squard tried another of his stupid, childish ideas. _Hopefully Marco can keep him and the rest in line long enough for them to mature_ , he thought with resignation, before leaping forward to abort his son's suicide attempt, marshaling more of his strength despite the crippling injuries he carried, and all of the bullets stuck in him and countless cuts.

Without budging an inch the World's Strongest Man stopped the massive ship in place.

"He... stopped it with one hand!" yelled one hapless marine. "I thought he was supposed to be dying!"

Gasping for breath, Whitebeard struggled to keep himself together to bring the end to this battle. _But first, I have one extra duty to perform,_ and he looked up to the top of the vessel to the stunned figure of Squard, "Don't you realize how painful it is for a father to see his own child die before him?! Don't you, Squard!?" he rebuked. "Don't get ahead of yourself, now! I'm not so weak as to die from your stab! But everyone dies someday!" He broke off to catch his breath again, and then turned away to advance towards the marines, prepared to act as a shield for his Sons to the end.

"We've completed our objective here," Whitebeard called out as Straw Hat Luffy and Ace continued running to regroup with the bulk of the pirates, "We no longer have any business here!"

Their chests tightening in foreboding at how their Father was walking away from the bay and escape, the Division Commanders were calling out to him now, "Pops!" "Old Man!"

"Listen closely, Whitebeard Pirates!" echoed throughout the plaza, the back of the Emperor's coat, and Mark of Pride, facing his Sons, "The order I am about to give, will be my final captain's order!"

"Final!?" one son quoted, "Wait, Old Man! I don't want to hear anything so ominous!"

"Pops!"

"Pops!"

"I don't want to hear that!"

"We're going back to the New World together, aren't we?!" and now tears were falling from the eyes of the most violent, dangerous, and manly men of the world's most terrible sea.

"YOU AND I WILL BE PARTING HERE! ALL OF YOU, MAKE SURE YOU SURVIVE, AND REUNITE WITH EACH OTHER IN THE NEW WORLD!"

Not even the marines made a sound, until Kingdew broke the silence, "P-Pops?! Are you planning on dying here!?"

Stamping his foot down, Whitebeard drew back his arm for his ultimate strike, "I AM THE ONE AT THE TOP OF THIS ERA… THERE IS NO SHIP TO CARRY ME INTO THE NEW AGE!"

No longer afraid of accidently hurting Ace, Edward Newgate mauled the Navy HQ building itself as he threw his greatest earthquake yet at it. "GET AWAY FROM HERE, MY SONS!"

He stopped his advance for a moment, letting his memories surface of the good times with his Sons and Daughters, and his own youth as he searched for a family.

"It's been a long journey, but a good one," Whitebeard smirked. "Let's finally put an end to this, you Navy bastards!

 **-0-0-0-**

"I have little use for soft words," Whitebeard said, "...but tell me one thing, Ace….were you happy with me as your father?"

"Of course!"

 **-0-0-0-**

"ACE!" the pirates all cried out in horror, but none louder than Marco, drawing the attention of everyone else, including the convicts with the Video Den-Den Mushi. And they all saw the 2nd Division Commander standing as a living shield before his brother, Straw Hat Luffy, with a fist of lava impaled through his chest.

Many of the Whitebeard Pirates swarmed towards Akainu, either turning towards him or even doubling-back from their retreat, while others struggled to get the sea prism stone off of Marco.

The viewers in Sabaody stared aghast at what was being transmitted to them. Truly the war against Whitebeard had taken ever more violent turns during the blackout while the news feed was lost. They stared as the pirates rained down explosives and bullets at Akainu, both venting their fury and pain even as they desperately tried to destroy his body faster than he could reform it.

Sadly, they were just too outclassed.

Unfazed, the admiral strode through the flames, unhampered by the destruction of his right arm and most of his torso.

"You're still alive, eh?" Akainu noted with some surprise as closed the distance once more to Fire Fist's back, yet the young man was unmoving if still upright, and his sworn-brother was still beside him. Rearing back his fist once more to end the evil they both embodied, he aimed for the pirate's head, but was then repelled once more

"That's enough!" roared Jinbe as he clashed with his bare yet mighty body against the Magma Man.

"Stop stalling, Jinbe. It's futile. You were once a Warlord of the Sea. You know exactly how strong I am."

"If I can buy a little time," the battered and burnt yet still fighting fishman declared, "by sacrificing myself, I'll gladly do so! I was prepared to die from the start!"

Marco missed whatever else was said as his shackle came off, and he sought out Vista, the next strongest haki user after him and the still-frozen Jozu. Wordlessly coordinating they came from behind their friend's back, "Jinbe, get down!"

 _Die!_ the two Division Commanders ordered, and they struck true, with Vista's blades and Marco's finally unsheathed talons. Kicks would not suffice against such a foe, and he wanted to _kill_ Akainu.

Yet the Admiral only grunted in annoyance, his own haki neutralizing their own so he only took pain, not wounds.

"I'll never forgive myself for what happened here today," Vista swore.

"How can this be!?" Marco gasped. _We came so far!_

 **-0-0-0-**

It was not his logia powers that kept Fire Fist Ace alive, nor his inhumanly tough body like Whitebeard's. He was a D. and a Conqueror, but most of all he was a brother, and he would not die until he had said what needed to be said to his family.

And for that, being beaten nearly to death by Teach and being denied any medical care did not matter. Being endlessly tortured by the sadists of Impel Down as they struggled to get a response, any response, out of him did not matter. Even being impaled through the chest by haki imbued lava…did not matter.

Luffy was just holding onto him, not running like he should, but Ace knew better than to expect his little brother to turn his back on him by now. He knew Luffy was in pain, pain of the heart, so Ace could only hope his last words would help. "I'm sorry…Luffy," he weakly got out.

"Ace! Your wounds need treating!" his brother cried in denial.

"I'm sorry you didn't get to save me," he gasped for breath and continued, "I'm sorry…"

"What are you saying?!" Luffy turned to the spectators, the hardened and experienced men who could not turn from the truth before their eyes, "Get him a doctor! Please! Somebody save Ace!"

His pleas touched a few enough to bring up a field doctor from one of the allied crews, but Ace had regained enough of his strength by the time the man arrived, "It's no use!" Taking an even deeper breath, "I know I'm dying! My guts have been burned out! Huff. I'm not gonna last long! So…Listen to me, Luffy!"

"What are you saying?!" Luffy cried. "Are you gonna die, Ace?! Y-you promised me, remember!? Huff. You said you'd never die! Isn't that what you told me, Ace?! Ugh…"

The assembled pirates and revolutionaries could only stand in silence, not daring to interrupt these final words between them, their hearts once more going out to the young boy's pleas.  
"Yeah. It reminds me of Sabo. If I didn't have a little brother that needed to be taken care of…I would've given up then. Nobody wanted me. It couldn't be helped." Ace paused for a moment as his memories bubbled over his tired, ever so tired, mind, and all of his assembled family felt a familiar pang. None of them had been wanted either, not until they had met Pops. "I know. If you ever see Dadan again…please give my regards. Dying makes me nostalgic…even for Dadan." And with that Ace gathered his thoughts for his last, and most important, words.  
"But there's one thing I've left undone. I wasn't able to see your dream through to the end. Huff. But you…I know you can do it. You're my little brother! Just like how I swore back then…I have no regrets!"

"Liar!" Luffy sobbed. "You're lying!"

"Huff…Huff…I'm not lying! What I really wanted…wasn't fame. All I wanted was to know…whether or not I should've been born. Huff…I can't even shout anymore. Luffy, listen to my next words carefully. Tell everybody what I say to you." Taking his brother's silence, his lack of further protests, as agreement, "Pops! Everyone! And you, Luffy...Even though...I'm so worthless...Even though...I carry the blood of a demon..."

The dam broke as water gushed from the eyes of all the pirates as what had happened spread. From the lowliest squab to the most bitter and calloused sailor. Even for Whitebeard, a few tears fell from the old man.

No less were the tears that cascaded from Ace's eyes, "Thank you...for loving me!"

And his sad expression turned to a smile as he knew he surrounded by his most precious people. Now at last he could stop fighting it, knowing his brothers would protect his youngest brother, and the life in Fire Fist Portgas D. Ace's proud eyes died as he passed on to even greater shores.

 **-0-0-0-**

Driven on by some sixth sense, the greatest pirates and marines turned as one to watch as a great flame of the world ended, and the viewers on the Den Den Mushi could only stare in shock as the body finally fell, and as Straw Hat threw back his head, his eyes unseeing as rasping cries of grief shuddered out of his unmoving body.

His mind broken by the endless onslaught.

Speeding forward upon a column of magma, Akainu prepared his fist once more to finish the job, but "I won't let you kill him! Marco cried as the blue fire of his wings shielded Straw Hat, healing faster than the lava could burn through him. The Admiral struggled to get through, yet the Division Commander put his all into standing firm, "Get Ace's brother out of here, Jinbe!" Without hesitation the fishman grabbed the young man and took off while Marco continued, "Straw Hat's survival was Ace's final wish!" and his words struck a chord with the assembled pirates as they wiped away their tears from hardening eyes, "We will absolutely protect him in Ace's place!"

Sorrow was gone from Ace's eldest brother now, but it was not rage that moved them, instead it was a dark, cold resolve that was more terrifying than anything they had yet shown. "If we let him die," Marco roared with steely eyes and a rage that nearly made him unrecognizable, "it will be the Whitebeard Pirates' greatest shame!"

Retreat was no longer an option, they would be an immovable wall between the Navy and Straw Hat Luffy, so vowed the Whitebeard Pirates as they echoed their First Division Commander's declaration. Jinbe ran with the young man through a forest of upraised weapons as his friends and comrades stood their ground to fight.

"I thought I said..." grunted Akainu with effort, "I wouldn't let either one of them escape!?" Marshaling more of his power, he threw Marco to the side and barreled towards the scum before him.

Then someone stepped over Akainu's grave.

 **-0-0-0-**

Akainu was a dead man. Pursued by someone who was already planning to die today anyways, and thus had nothing to lose.

The man was an admiral for a reason however, and burnt off half his signature mustache and a good chunk of his head, cooking part of the Emperor's brain.

Whitebeard never even felt it past his fury. The fury of a man who had lost his children because of his weakness.

A father should never have to bury his sons, and too many had already died today. But they had all come for a reason, because they were willing to lay down their lives to save the brother they had all loved, and now Ace was dead. Hope and joy turned to ash.

And so with the soul and will that had carried him across the seas to this point, Whitebeard made his body move to unleash the roiling emotions within him, striking such power that he nearly shattered the island of Marineford.

The Navy's proud flag fell, the kanji painted on the walls for "Navy" and "Justice" were rendered illegible, and the very earth was split into a fitting grave for the marine admiral filth as he plunged down towards the sea to drown like a rat. The gorge was so massive it even divided the island so that the marines could not continue across the plaza towards the pirates.

His Sons were cut off and safe now though, and he turned towards the remaining marines, knowing he was not finished. Not until his children were all safe and gone could he stop forcing his tired old heart to keep beating.

Between labored breaths he got out, "I'm not finished yet!"

Hefting his bisento above his head, Whitebeard spun it around with the ease of a younger man before slamming the butt down to crack the ground as he faced the assembled might of the remaining Marines. "From this point forward..." and he swung his weapon again and then let it rest into a comfortable posture to attack, "I will take you on! Come!"

The Navy acknowledged the challenge and charged the battered warrior, burning with the need to end Whitebeard's legend once and for all.

 **-0-0-0-**

The Sons of Whitebeard watched their Father's proud steel back as he fought like the demon that children sang about, going beyond the limits of sanity and nature to stay between them and the Navy. This was Whitebeard's final battle, and he was determined that the World Government would be too broken to even pursue his family.

Out of all the pirates, only Marco looked on with dry eyes. He had always half suspected it would come to this, but Pops had taken away any chance to prevent it. Yet as he took in this awesome display of love and fatherhood, finally the tears for this great man fell. "All men, get aboard the ships!" yelled for all to hear.

Many pirates wanted to stay and fight, "Don't leave us! Please!" sobbed one such son, but the Division Commanders were resolute in stopping them, "Think of the reason he stayed behind...of the dreams he's entrusted us with!" Fossa argued.

"If you're gonna grieve for him, then do it on the ship!" Haruta ordered.

In growing numbers they ran, heading to the open water to grab whatever seaworthy ships remained. The marines who were not engaged by Whitebeard tried to open fire on them, but other Division Commanders would block the bullets until their Father took notice and tore through those threats too.

Face like a mask as the tears dried, only Marco remained behind. _Please let me be selfish long enough to watch over you a little longer...Pops_.

It was the end of an era, but a glorious one.

Whitebeard, the man who had ruled over the pirates from beside the empty Throne of the Pirate King, the man who had protected so many islands within the most terrible sea, and had kept at bay the worst of the monsters who inhabited it.

This day was the day he would pass from these seas and onto the next.

 **-0-0-0-**

And then _he_ arrived. The traitor.

Marshall D. Teach.

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **Akainu: You omitted most of my best lines! You're a criminal, as are all your children! Die!**

 **Me: I did it because everyone hates you, that's why! Now go away so I can dream of Luffy beating your face in!**

 **For those of you who are curious, the dialogue is crafted together from the dubbed and subbed anime, along with the printed manga. I did add some lines and fan theories in of course, but did not change any of the original content. Most additional scenes are drawn from the anime, except for the part where Marco fights those three vice-admirals including Vergo.**

 **I deliberately excluded Ace from the initial list of Conquerors because I do not know how common that knowledge is, including if the navy was even aware.**

 **Yeah, Whitebeard was more focused upon the deadly** ** _men_** **at Marineford, but by all accounts he is a bit sexist. The medical staff will be appearing in later chapters however.**

 **Also, Harji of the 5** **th** **Division is an OC, but I believe Whitebeard would know all the names and faces of his Sons, despite how there were over a 1600 of them, not including his allied sons. Because he is an awesome father like that.**

 **-0-**

 **Recommended fics:**

 **"** **DreamWorld" by phoenixyfriend**

 **"** **A Hundred Whispers of the Wind" by Tatsumaki-sama**

 **"** **Theories and Backstory and Head-Canons, Oh My!" by Sarcasticles**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	8. Marineford, Part 3 of 3

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful Karukyuu and rose7anne101, who have both written some pretty amazing stuff for One Piece.

 **-0-0-0-**

Given the reactions to the previous chapter, mine included, I am also posting chapters for a new series labeled "Ace Lives." Excellent source of therapy for me, and hopefully for you too.

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Rise from the Ashes

 **-0-0-0-**

Warning: Spoilers for chapter 830

 **-0-0-0-**

Chapter 8: Marineford, Part 3 of 3

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Before…**

There were no curses in the tongues of man, beast, or other beings for Marshal D. Teach's treachery.

To kill a brother who had loved him for years. To hand over another brother, one whom he himself had once eaten and drunken with, praised and supported as a brother, to be executed as bait for the rest of the family. A trap he knew that none of the others would never have even considered walking away from and abandoning Ace. To smile and jeer as he looked over a battlefield littered with those he laughed and sung with, who had trusted him with their backs and protected his own.

To come to kill his Father of over twenty-years. The man who had taken him in when he had had _nothing_ and _no-one._

The name he had chosen for himself said it all: "Blackbeard." For a man who had until know only borne stubble, it was clear that this title was a declaration of his intent, which was all too horribly clear now. To be the _antithesis_ of the man who had opened his heart to him.

The worlds 'hatred' and 'loathing' were words too small to express how the Whitebeard Pirates felt about him.

 **-0-0-0-**

 _The rubble and blood of the battlefield faded away for cherry blossoms and faint rainbows, as Whitebeard once more found himself sitting and sharing a drink with the mortally ill Roger,_ _"_ _I see people with that "D." from time to time. There's one called Teach in my crew. What is that "D." thing anyways?"_

 _"_ _You wanna know? Then I'll tell you. A long time ago…"_

 _And so Whitebeard's greatest rival told him, and the middle-aged man carefully processed it all. The story was scarily believable, especially given what else he had seen and heard over the years. Without even meaning to, he could feel himself becoming a convert, as a sense of faith in this legend, and what it represented, started to spread warmly throughout him. Still, "I'm not interested in helping that along either," he gruffly told the Pirate King._

 _Yet the man just laughed in that hearty tone of his, "I know, I know! Besides, when the right D. finally comes along, he's gonna have to figure out his path himself! But if he comes along while you're still kicking, then you can decide!"_

 _"…_ _I admit," Whitebeard ruefully told the dying man, "I'd like to see it happen. Just so long as he leaves my sons in peace," he added with a growl, but Roger just laughed again._

 **-0-0-0-**

Yet twenty years later, at the end of his life, it seemed that the D.'s were finally on the move in force, even if Teach was an insult to the very name. As for the other…

 _I don't know if you're the one, Straw Hat brat, but I hope you are…But still…_

And Whitebeard knew what he had to do. From the depths of his soul he knew what his last words must be. He did not even know if they would spread beyond Marineford or not, but they had to be said.

 **-0-0-0-**

"It's not you..." Whitebeard growled as he regained his senses.

Ignoring the panicked bleating of the man cowering still on the ground, he continued, "The man Roger is waiting for...at the very least, Teach…it's definitely not you!"

Looking away from his failure, hating the idea of Teach's face being the last he saw, Whitebeard raised his head and focused upon Sengoku.

"Just like there are those who carry on Roger's will...I'm sure someone will appear to carry on Ace's will, someday. Even if you extinguish his bloodline, there's no way that 'their' flame will ever burn out. It has been passed down since ancient times..." Whitebeard paused to momentarily pant for breath before continuing with the same unyielding belief, "And in the future...Someday...Someone will appear, carrying the history of all those decades on his back...and challenge this whole world to a fight. Sengoku. You guys in the World Government...all fear that immense battle engulfing the whole world...that will eventually come. I don't care myself...but as soon as someone finds that great treasure…the entire world will be turned upside down."

Dimly, Whitebeard could see, for the first time in his (garbled and now literally burnt memory) _fear_ on the Fleet Admiral's face. Yet such was the will and presence of the speaker, and the power of the words themselves, that Sengoku could only stand impotent.

"And someone _will_ find it...That day will definitely come sooner or later."

The grin that Whitebeard then gave his old rival, the man who had orchestrated the bloodbath that had consumed too many of his sons, was terrifying to behold. The entire Navy could only stand petrified as the great man filled his massive lungs with air, and the pirates stood spellbound with anticipation. For Blackbeard and his ilk it was from greed, for Whitebeard's sons, it was something…more.

The next words were engraved into history itself.

" **THE ONE PIEEECE! THE ONE PIECE IS REAL!** "

 **-0-0-0-**

On Sabaody the civilians stood spellbound, unable to process it, but soon they were yelling into their Den Den Mushi to spread the word to news stations, friends, and family.

Even if the marines present had pulled themselves together enough to realize the repercussions of Whitebeard's dying message, it was already too late. Even if they had shot everyone watching the broadcast before they could do anything, the damage was already done.

Several pirate and civilian crews had intercepted the transmission from Marineford and broadcasted it. Survivors of Marineford, pirate and marine alike, spread the tale further, either sober or within bars.

As it was, Whitebeard's dying act burned throughout the world, as men and women decided to leave the boredom or oppression they knew at home, and start looking for a ship to sail. Knowing that the great treasure was waiting to be claimed, was the impetus they needed to take up their weapons and start strike out for the seas and adventure.

 **-0-0-0-**

 _Forgive me...my sons...I'm responsible for one hell of a fool... But thanks to all of you, I had everything I ever wanted. This is the end for me_.

With that, Whitebeard turned inwards, remembering precious moments with his family, how it had grown into the wonderful, indescribable thing it was now.

 _I've been traveling for a long time... I'm grateful to you. Farewell, my sons_.

 **-0-0-0-**

Whitebeard is dead!

Even in death. Even with half his face gone, he would never fall.

He will forever be remembered as a monster for the way he destroyed his enemies that day.

In this one battle alone he suffered 267 swords wounds…

…Was struck by 152 bullets…

…And 45 cannon blasts. And yet…

…Neither that mighty body…

…Nor his Pirate's Pride…

 **…** **Suffered even one "Coward's Wound"!**

 **-0-0-0-**

"HEY, DID YOU ALL SEE THAT?! ZE HA HA HA HA! LET THE WHOLE WORLD KNOW THIS! PEACE-LOVING, BORING COMMONERS! MARINES! WORLD GOVERNMENT! AND PIRATES! THE FUTURE OF THIS WORLD HAS BEEN DECIDED! ZE HA HA HA HA! YES, FROM NOW ON… **THIS IS MY ERA!** "

 **-0-0-0-**

The Whitebeard Pirates were broken.

Ace their favourite brother, the one they were willing to give their lives for was dead. Cut down just when it seemed like he was about to be free.

Teach had appeared and had tauntingly shown how he had manipulated the world before killing their Father and stealing his power.

Mercilessly the marines hounded them, killing the pirates even as they fled. And Akainu was—

Without a word or gesture, every pirate who caught sight of what was happening changed course to intercept the admiral. He was trying to kill Straw Hat.

To the end Jinbe protected Straw Hat, shielding him with his own body, but Akainu punched his lava straight through the fishman. Yet for all of Jinbe's power and will, his strength almost seemed a curse, as he was left just alive enough to watch the Admiral approach to deliver the finishing blow. Upon the frozen waters, Straw Hat was immobile, a smoking burn upon his chest.

"Are you still trying to protect him, with that hole in your chest?" Akainu inquired to Jinbe as he calmly walked up. The only evidence of the terrible thrashing he had received from Whitebeard, the blows that were supposed to kill him, were the trails of dried blood from his mouth. "You'll both die soon enough."

But still fate smiled upon Straw Hat. Or rather, other powerful figures still held an interest in his fate.

So focused upon _finally_ claiming his prey, of ending Dragon's line and further spawn of evil, Akainu's haki detected the attack too late to react, even as he hid how serious the damaged his internal organs truly were. Once more Ex-Warlord Sir Crocodile defied the wrath of the Navy as he cut the admiral in two with his sand logia powers and spirited both Jinbe and Straw Hat away. "If you want to protect something, then you should do it right!" he yelled after Jinbe, "Don't let these guys keep doing whatever they want!"

Growing increasingly frustrated, Akainu turned his attention to Crocodile. With the extent of his talent at haki, the pirates scum was at best an annoyance, albeit one with abilities sufficient to slow down even a magma logia. A few quick blows and the sand logia however was repulsed enough to for an easy shot at the still airborne Jinbe and Straw Hat…until another pirate who was somehow flying caught them and steered them away.

Yet all of those nuisances, all these small efforts to stop a living volcano, were all that were necessary.

Obeying his haki, Akainu broke off his attack and threw up his arm to block the ambush, feeling pain if not damage as a barrage of pink objects shot into him, while a fog suddenly picked up to obscure his vision. Yet he could feel them all, and disbelief made him pause; not even a lust for vengeance could explain this behaviour from such self-serving lowlifes; they all knew first-hand his might and true conviction for Justice!

Their footsteps against the icy floor, dozens of them, echoed through the sudden silence, and the admiral felt the need to ask, "Is every single one of you…" and paused to let his disbelief and contempt sink in, "willing to die for the sake of that kid?"

"We all witnessed firsthand…his bottomless determination and power," Vista declared as he stepped forward with his drawn swords.

"Ace protected him, and the Old Man acknowledged him!" growled Fossa.

Hefting his gun, Izo finished "Now it's our duty to send him off into the new era!"

" _Noble sentiment_ from a bunch of criminals. But in the end, it's just empty talk." Akainu snapped mockingly, just as a wind blew away the cloud to display his enemies who stood alongside Crocodile, "Whitebeard Pirates!"

Unyielding, prepared to face whatever came, was a small army of pirates. All of the Division Commanders, several of the allied Captains, and all of the other Sons of Whitebeard who had seen Straw Hat imperiled. Retreat was not an option.

Yet they only stood there calmly, not doing anything to provoke Akainu into action. Their mission was to protect Straw Hat, and the best way for now was simply to buy time. Despite this, their willingness to fight was abundantly clear to anyone who glimpsed their defiant postures: arms crossed, weapons at the ready if not directly aimed at their hated foe, their eyes cold and dangerous. Whatever happened, they would make their Father proud.

At their head was First Division Commander Marco the Phoenix, hand alight with cerulean flame as he stalked forward. He did not know where his next words came from, but all heard his conviction, "Akainu! Could it be that what you fear in him…is the very thing that makes him our hope for the future!?"

 **-0-0-0-**

THAT'S ENOUGH! LET'S STOP THIS! STOP FIGHTING! **IT'S A WASTE OF HUMAN LIFE!** "

 **-0-0-0-**

The New World

After the funeral.

The broken and battered pirate fleet that sailed away from where their Father and brothers were buried was a mockery of their proud Jolly Roger, consisting of only the surviving allied ships, the remaining _Moby Dick_ -class that the marines had allowed them to tow away, along with the _Red Force_ as an escort against any opportunists. As further warning, and to help reassure everyone of his good intentions, Shanks himself was sailing with the crew of his former rival.

They had escaped to the New World via the second crew of master coaters that had been waiting for them on the Paradise side of the Red Line, yet doubtless Teach had already figured out his escape beforehand, like everything else over the past dark months. They could only hope he sailed past Fishman Island without molesting it.

The two pirate crews had intended to part ways once everyone had paid their respects, but Red Hair had pointed out that they would both be sailing the same way for the first day or so. The island for the resting place of Whitebeard, Ace, and all of the other fallen pirates was within Shank's territory, but the man wanted to keep close to his borders for the next while, to respond to any unwise actions by his rivals or idiot upstarts. As for Marco and the others, they were heading to an island they believed Blackbeard had not yet approached.

"C-commander Marco, sir?" a bandaged and red-eyed Marco glanced up as one of the too few field doctors walked up.

"Yes?" Marco asked, struggling to not sound unkind.

"Uhm, I was one of the ones there when Ace…" he stopped, but a few other brothers walked up and gestured that they had also been present, and equally helpless.

Red Haired Shanks was standing off to the side, but it was only an illusion of privacy. Marco could read the slightest twitch to tell that the Emperor was also curious.

Things had been awkward with the one-armed man around, especially since he had essentially coerced both them and the marines into stopping the war; including not going after Teach then and there. They knew it was for the best, that it would have been foolish to keep fighting, a betrayal of their Captain's orders, but a dark and bloody part of their collective psyche resented Red Hair for his intrusion. Retrieving both Ace and Pop's body and the subsequent burial had done much to ease such wounds however, and as they pulled themselves back together they could appreciate his arrival more. Some careful math and navigation in consultation with observers from Fishman Island had also confirmed the rival crew had made best time to Marineford, not stalling until the perfect moment.

Marco was about to reassure his teary-eyed brothers, as best as he could, but the doctor had finished composing himself, "Ace, he, passed a message on to us. Told his little brother, Luffy, to tell us—"

"So we wait for his brother to tell us," Marco tightly interrupted, scrunching his eyes closed.

The poor spokesman flinched, but did not step back. "…Was there something else?" Marco finally asked, opening his eyes to note that Shanks was not even trying to hide his interest now.

After a moment, the doctor finished, "He also said that he only wished he could have lived to see his brother, Luffy, fulfill his dream." Unspoken between them were the words the boy had proudly declared. _To become King of the Pirates._

The Whitebeard Pirates stilled, for they would _always_ be known by that name, and then Marco raised his head. "Did he now-yoi?" a small smile creeping through, a faint ember relighting in his eyes.

After a moment he stood and walked away, but then paused to address everyone, "Someone like that? He's not dead yet. Not even after having all three Admirals trying to kill him on the way out. All we can do is wait and see if he'll get back up or not-yoi. And until then we've got enough of our own problems to deal with. Oh, and Atmos?"

"Yes?" the large man asked.

"When we get to the rendezvous, take all of Pop's booze," he had a stash on _every_ ship, "and lock it away. We'll save it until we've got something to celebrate."

Now after three days, the First Division Commander finally went to get some sleep, when a voice cut in. "It wasn't just Whitebeard."

Everyone turned to look at Red Haired Shanks, who was now reading from a folded newspaper in his one hand. "This rampaging across the seas," he continued, "the resurgence of the pirates, it wasn't just your Captain. He told them the dream was real, giving them something to believe in." Now Shanks looked up at Marco, his face serious but for the glee that danced in his eyes, "But Luffy proved that the World Government isn't as strong as it would like us to believe. A rookie from the East Blue burning down Enies Lobby, defying the Celestial Dragons, and then in front of all those reporters on Sabaody he invaded Marineford with an army of prisoners from Impel Down, wreaking havoc all across the battlefield. Their three great strongholds, the symbols of their power, and he beat them all within under a year."

Marco frowned at the familiar way Shanks was talking about Straw Hat, and remembered what he had overheard while the young man was talking to Pops. One of his brothers who had been closer at the time had gotten him word that Shanks had made a point of making sure the rookie got his signature straw hat back too, but Marco knew it had originally been Shanks'. The treasure he would rather die for than surrender. And they had said that one of the Red Hair Pirates had yelled something about seeing Luffy after so long. "…Why're you so interested in Straw Hat-yoi?"

"Don't be coy," Shanks chuckled, but without any malice. "You know I've been interested in him for a while. Your own agents were sniffing around the same as mine were after Crocodile got beaten. Heh, I wouldn't be surprised if by this point you even know most of the story; even as a kid, Luffy would blurt out whatever came to his mind first, and I know how sharp Whitebeard was," the past tense stung, "and you are. That said, it _is_ still private, so I can't really say much more."

The assembled Whitebeard Pirates looked at the Emperor in further awe as they realized just how much attention Straw Hat had garnered.

"Anyways, I _can_ tell you that I've got no plans to seek him out and fight him," like he had with other rookies who liked to cause trouble. "We're just going to sit back and wait for him and his crew to come for us." All of the fearsome Red Hair Pirates present were grinning at this now, the anticipation written boldly across their faces. And…pride? Yes, pride.

Shrugging, Marco resumed walking with feet that no longer felt _quite_ like lead, "Alright then. Now, I've really got to get some sleep-yoi."

 **-0-0-0-**

Later

Offshore of an uninhabited island where the crew would stash emergency supplies, the Whitebeard Pirates continued to lick their wounds, having parted ways with Shanks and his cryptic words.

Big Mom and Kaidou were already snatching up some of the choicest islands that had been under their protection, but both of them were clearly preparing for something bigger. The small fries of the New World, the ones too lowly to attract the attention of the Emperors, were trying to make a name for themselves by conquering now defenseless islands, and Teach had already been sighted in the New World as the scheming veteran began to make his move. Amidst this, the Sons and Daughters of Whitebeard tried to heal as fast as possible while they tried to figure out their next moves: where to stand to protect those they had sworn to shield against the New World, and where to strike for vengeance.

But for now they all just struggled to even get some rest.

Away from the others on watch, Marco looked up at the night sky, but dark clouds obscured the tapestry of stars that were above. Just as he felt: that something suffocating had covered up what was once filled with an unspoken beauty that softened the heart no matter how often you saw it. Sleep would not come easily to him, and he had conditioned his body to burn away any foreign drugs (including too much booze after a particularly dangerously close call), so no help there. Thus he was left with his own thoughts as he struggled to understand his Father's words during his last battle. He knew he was not alone in this, he had overheard some of the other Division Commanders quietly talking to each other about what Whitebeard had said as he told them to leave, or his final words as he stood tall and defiant against Teach and the world itself.

Several times over the years Pops had spoken of the coming era, usually in thought of his Sons' and Daughters' futures. It had always been a distant thing for them, willing their Father to enter it with them. Yet at Marineford, Whitebeard, the greatest pirate alive, had unequivocally decreed that _now_ was the start of the New Era!

What would it be? No one knew. How could you even define what it was about? It had taken years after Roger's death for the time to be known as the Great Pirate Era. The World Government had always acted to discourage such notions in the past, with the previous eras talked about in _approved_ history texts being about significant advances for people in general such as the Communications Era when Den Den Mushi were discovered, or times of "inclusion" when numerous countries joined the World Government at once (always voluntarily), presenting a general picture that the last eight centuries had been the World Government's Era.

But now the gears were starting to slip. Before Roger's execution, men and women like Kaido, Big Mom, Red Hair, and their Father would never have been able to amass the power and dominion they now possessed; one by one the Marines would have eventually hunted them down. But with rise of the pirates in such numbers, with men and women taking to the seas and unlocking their fighting potential, all four Emperors had been able to amass mighty militaries that individually could match the might of the Navy, if not win outright.

It was for that very reason that the World Government had accepted the risks of creating the Warlord system.

Finally, after twenty years, those politicians and bureaucrats had believed they could finally challenge the status quo by killing Whitebeard, assuming that they could shape the ensuing chaos to their own advantage. But it was quickly becoming brutally clear that was coming instead was a time of violence and bloodshed that could consume everyone. All it would take was the gears slipping a little bit more… _And Teach's definitely going to push it all the way, if not now than as soon as he feels he's ready._

Yet for all that, despite how grim the situation had been upon that bloody battlefield with Death staring him in the eye, Marco, Vista, Izo, Haruta, and the others had all come to realize that their Father had spoken with _hope_.

 _So what did he mean?_ Marco wondered as he stared up at the roiling sky.

More than anyone, he knew how uncharacteristic Whitebeards words had been, especially since they were supposed to be his last. For as long as he had known him, Pops had always been a blunt man, not one to give grandiose speeches like that on a whim. _There are things he believed in of course, but to speak with such faith in the future_ … _He believed that whatever is to come, it will be for the best._ _What are we missing?_

 _What did our Father know that made him feel that despite how sick and despairing we'd feel after leaving him to die while he was staying to buy us time, that we'd laugh and sing once more!?_

But the wind and sea provided no answers.

Mind still troubled, he returned to his hammock and feverish sleep.

 **-0-0-0-**

The door slamming open broke Marco out of his nightmare and roused him to fight, upright with fists held high before he opened his eyes.

"Marco!" Vista puffed out, eyes so wide with emotion they seemed to miss that his brother was drenched with sweat despite how they were near a winter island. "You've got to come quick! It's Straw Hat! He's alive! And he went back to Marineford!"

"He WHAT!?" the Phoenix yelled and was out the door with just his pants on, and shouldered his way through the crowd to the center to snatch away the newspaper to read it himself.

Sure enough:

 **"** **Straw Hat Luffy Returns to Marineford. Pays respects!"**

The young man in the picture was covered in bandages, but that he was even alive after being struck down by Akainu, and escaping while the other two admirals doing their hardest to kill him, was a miracle in itself. More importantly, it was clear the figure in the image was unbroken. Or failing that, someone who had managed to pull his shattered self back together.

Slowly, Marco read aloud in a clear voice what the article said, how Straw Hat had returned to Marineford to pay his due to the dead who had fallen there.

"So Jinbe's alive too! That's fantastic!"

"So he's really a descendent of Garp? That the same last name's not a coincidence?"

"How many Monkey's do you know? And they said so at the war!"

"HUH!? They did!?"

"Yes you moron!"

"Well excuse me! I was probably fighting marines at the time with cannons pounding in my ear! Lay off!"

"They said he was the son of Dragon too! The World's Greatest Criminal!"

"You idiot! Remember!? Blood doesn't matter!"

"It does to some extent!"

"But what about the Dark King! Where's he fit into this!? Nothing for twenty years and now he returns to help Straw Hat!?"

The First Division Commander, never Captain, heard this last part as he was rereading the confusing part about the Ox Bell, until the itch at the back of his mind came forward and he remembered a piece of old history. _The Ox Bell, is only rung that many times at the end of the year and the beginning of the new. He's declaring that Whitebeard's time is over, and now his has begun?_

Everything began to click into place for Marco now, as scenes from Marineford flashed before his eyes.

 **-0-**

 _"_ _I know perfectly well! You wanna be the Pirate King, don't you?! I'm the one who'll be the Pirate King!"_

 _"_ _Don't you let him die, Marco."_

 _"_ _IF YOU'RE PIRATES, THEN DECIDE FOR YOURSELVES WHAT TO BELIEVE!"_

 _"MEN! AS OF THIS MOMENT...LEND STRAW HAT LUFFY...ALL OF YOUR STRENGTH!"_

 _"_ _I AM THE ONE AT THE TOP OF THIS ERA… THERE IS NO SHIP TO CARRY ME IN THE NEW ERA!"_

 _"It's not you... The man Roger is waiting for...at the very least, Teach…it's definitely not you!"_

"THE ONE PIEEECE! THE ONE PIECE IS REAL!"

" _HEY, DID YOU ALL SEE THAT?! ZE HA HA HA HA! LET THE WHOLE WORLD KNOW THIS! PEACE-LOVING, BORING COMMONERS! MARINES! WORLD GOVERNMENT! AND PIRATES! THE FUTURE OF THIS WORLD HAS BEEN DECIDED! ZE HA HA HA HA! YES, FROM NOW ON_ …THIS IS MY ERA!"

" _He said that he only wished he could have lived to see his brother, Luffy, become King of the Pirates_."

" _But what about the Dark King! Where's he fit into this!? Nothing for twenty years and now he returns to help Straw Hat!?_ "

 **-0-**

And then Marco remembered. Remembered the words he had spoken without even knowing where they had come from.

 **-0-**

 _"_ _Akainu! Could it be that what you fear in him…is the very thing that makes him our hope for the future!?"_

 **-0-**

"Everyone! Quiet!" and the entire crew stopped and turned to look at Marco the Phoenix. He leapt upon a nearby roof, yet blue and gold continued to blaze across his body. "This is what we're going to do—yoi."

Silence.

"First things first, we kill Teach. _Not_ ," he said with emphasis to cut off anyone saying anything, "just for Pops, Thatch, Ace and all the others. We'll get our vengeance, but we're also doing this for the future, for what we'll all do after that—yoi."

He took a deep breath to brace himself, he hated making speeches, he _never_ gave speeches, but the fact that _he_ of all people was making one made everyone listen with bated breath.

"Pops was telling us that his time has passed, and it us up to us to decide how we want this New Era to form! To find our own path!

"He would expect more of us than just survival, or vengeance, or even just protecting our territory and those who depend upon us." There were some frowns at this, for they were already hearing news of opportunistic idiots who were attacking islands flying the Whitebeard Jolly Roger. "He wouldn't care about us shaping the coming era, only that our friends and family roam wild and free over the seas!" He took a deep breath.

"But there's one family member who's not safe, because he's chosen a path that will pit him against the Admirals once more, against Kaidou, Big Mom, and it looks like even Shanks! Ace's little brother! _Our_ little brother! Straw Hat Luffy!"

 _I said something like that at Marineford_ , a shaken Izo remembered. Some of his brothers had asked about what he had said, but until now he honestly could not have said why. It just felt…like the right thing to say.

Stepping forward with the stump of his right arm clearly shown, Jozu spoke up, "You're saying we should make him the next Pirate King?"

"No," Vista corrected as he distractedly stroked his mustache, "someone like him would never accept it, all of us doing all the work for him, not after what we saw him say to Pops, or how he tried to fight the whole War without us! Helping him, being allies, is another story. Because we _are_ family, especially after all that. Not just because of Ace."

"Yeah, and if we had to hold his hand he wouldn't deserve it!"

"Hah! He's too crazy awesome to want that!"

"Hey! Who knows what he had already overcome breaking in and out of Impel Down! Imagine if he had come into the fight fresh!"

"He has the Haki of a True King!" one called out. "Look at what he did with only instinct!"

"We can test and guide him!" rumbled the older Division Commander Fossa.

Pumping his fist into the air, Marco roared, "Straw Hat!"

The Division Commanders followed suit or with their drawn weapons, "Straw Hats!"

"Straw Hat!" the former crewmen of Whitebeard, including all the female nurses and doctors.

"Straw Hat!" the allied captains.

"Straw Hat!" all the other pirates.

" **STRAW HAT!** " all of them screaming their vow to the heavens. Letting their Father know their hearts and minds were as one, and they had found their path once more.

"Glad to hear it!" a loud growl called out, and everyone turned to look over the rail to see the smiling figure of Jinbe, ex-Warlord and the First Son of the Sea, bobbing in the water. "Can I come aboard?" he asked politely. "I've got some information I think you'll all want to hear!" Frankly it had been a miracle to find them so soon, even with his ability to narrow down their possible locations with educated guesses.

Breaking into laughter, the first laugh any of them had heard in far too long, Jozu called out, "Grab some booze and Jinbe's favourite sake!"

"Wait!" Marco yelled, and when everyone turned to him in confusion he pointed at Atmos. "Grab Pop's personal stash, we're going to break open some of it for this—yoi!"

And their cheers told Jinbe that they too were not broken, and that they too understood what Luffy-kun represented.

That Straw Hat Luffy is the man who will eventually change the world. The one to rule the seas.

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **Blackbeard: "Hey! Why don't I get more scenes!"**

 **Me: "Because no one likes you."**

 **Ace: "And me?"**

 **Me: "Too emotional for me to write, sorry."**

 **Unlike a lot of the previous two chapters, a lot of this dialogue is my own I admit, although I did try to stay true to canon by still using lines crafted together from the dubbed and subbed anime, along with the printed manga. Additional scenes are drawn from the anime.**

 **For those interested in details, Buggy also sailed off with Shanks and his crew for a bit to get away from Marineford, but mentioning that disturbed the flow and focus on the Whitebeard Pirates.**

 **The last line is indeed drawn from Jinbe's speech to his crew. Give yourself a cookie if you recognized it.**

 **-0-**

 **Recommended fics:**

 **"** **Til You Feel It All Around You" by Tonko**

 **"** **Nami: A Reflection In Eight Parts** **"** **by Monochromatic-Stardust**

 **"** **Anchor and Compass" by rose7anne101**

 **"** **Moby Dick's New Residents" by rose7anne101**

 **-0-**

 **There is just one last chapter to go for this flashback part of the story. See the next chapter: "Dreams"**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	9. Dreams

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has written some pretty amazing stuff for One Piece.

 **-0-0-0-**

Rise from the Ashes

 **-0-0-0-**

Chapter 9: Dreams

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Before…**

"Ze ha ha ha! You're too late Marco!" Teach roared with laughter, standing atop the limp, unmoving body of Straw Hat Luffy.

"He put up a good fight however, as expected of Commander Ace's brother! He would have made a good Little Brother for the crew even! In fact, I think I'll even keep the Gum-Gum Fruit for myself! Ze ha ha ha ha!" Maliciously, Teach's grinned even wider, holding up a hand shrouded in darkness. "And now it's your turn!"

"GAAAAH!"

With a cry Marco the Phoenix fell off his hammock, frantically shredding his blanket in an attempt to make some distance from the enemy visible only within his mind, leaping up to take a fighting stance while blue flames flickered across his frame. "Huh, huh, huh, huh," he breathed in and out, his hair, having grown longer over the last two years, was lying across his eyes, drenched in sweat. Slowly it sunk in that it was just a nightmare, and he collapsed down to sit on the deck.

 _Two years. Two whole years. But how much longer, Straw Hat?_

The Whitebeard Pirates and their allies had discovered at horrific cost that continuing to try and kill Teach themselves was suicidal, that vengeance was beyond them. At least alone.

Originally they had only intended to help Straw Hat Luffy become the next Pirate King after the traitor was dead, which in itself would benefit the young man. Yet in the midst of this despair, Marco and the others had come to realize that the rookie may very well be what they needed to finally achieve vengeance against the traitor (only Navy people used nonsense like "Justice").

Like Blackbeard, Straw Hat was a wild card: unpredictable, strangely and yet undeniably charismatic, able to draw together diverse and bloodthirsty rogues for a common cause, and even surprisingly powerful. The greatest pirates of the previous generation, Shanks, the Dark King, and even Pops, had demonstrated their respect for him, and according to Jinbe, Silvers Rayleigh was even training Straw Hat. Apparently it would take about two years, but since the Whitebeard Pirates did not know exactly _when_ the Straw Hats would reunite (it was absurd to think they could all gather on the exact same day), or on which island, where they would surface after departing Fishman Island, what route they would take, their intentions, etc., Marco was worried they might have some trouble meeting up with Straw Hat. After all, it was not like they could hang around Fishman Island without unforgivably endangering the people there.

Yet if they could find him, their Little Brother, then they might finally have the edge they needed to rid the Oceans of that madman once and for all.

Now they just had to figure out where he was…

… _Why, oh why didn't we give Jinbe one of our new Den-Den Mushi numbers_ , Teach knew the old ones, _so he could just call us? We could've communicated in code even to deal with eavesdropper,_ Marco berated himself for the thousandth time.

 _No, no more of that. What matters is that we've got to find Straw Hat before anyone else does. If only to tell him about Teach. Jinbe was one of us, but I don't think he ever stuck around long enough to learn about his unusual body. How we think he can use multiple Devil Fruits…_

 **-0-0-0-**

Through supreme effort, Marco hid his fatigue, projecting only his typical air of boredom and laziness.

His job was to never show any doubt or weariness. He was the leader, not the Captain. Marco would never sit upon the chair that was found upon every copy of the _Moby Dick_ (and not just because he would look ridiculous on that massive seat). Even now, empty as it was, it still seemed to radiate a presence whenever he stood beside it to make official decisions concerning the future of the crew.

Yet despite this, he still knew that everyone looked up to him, drawing strength from him as they kept sailing forward, hoping for the better.

If he was seen to be losing faith, theirs would rapidly crumble.

Teach had won the Payback War, and while they all agreed that Straw Hat would likely prove to be the key to defeat the traitor, the wait was weighing heavily upon them. The endless fighting as they sailed without any safe harbour, lest the wrath of one of the Emperors or the ever more aggressive Navy descended upon the island's inhabitants. As for the sea itself, their home…they could not shake the feeling that something seemed different. All the currents, weather patterns, creature, and general insanity remained as wild and unpredictable as ever, but they could not shake the feeling its intent was now more hostile. Or that a pressure was building, like the calm before the storm, or the light fizzling sound as bomb fuse was consumed.

All they could do for now was survive the New World, while they waited for Straw Hat to finish his training and return.

Yet deep down, doubt gnawed at them as the time continued to flow by, especially since they had invested all of what remained of their hope and dreams within him. But as the silence stretched on without word of him, more and more of them were struggling to keep going. To protect their birthright of sailing these waters…

Every time the World Government claimed Straw Hat was dead after being quiet so long, they reassured themselves that it was just lies; that somebody would try to claim the glory for it. That the Dark King was still working to draw out his full potential.

But still those dark thoughts festered.

They had not touched any more of Pop's personal sake since Jinbe had come to see them after parting ways with Straw Hat, not even for what had once been their monthly joint birthday parties. They were too busy fighting to survive as Emperors, Marines, and pirate rabble tried to hunt them down. What freedom they had from the hunters was spent defending themselves against the savagery that was the New World.

Marco hardly glanced up as several of his brothers were driving off a swarm of octopus-shark hybrids that were each the size of most ships. He knew they could handle it.

The surviving Whitebeard Pirates were the toughest, smartest, most skillful, —and luckiest—family members that Marco would imagine leading. Yet that only drew attention to how many had already died. How their numbers were only decreasing. Even as they struggled to keep the _Moby Dick_ (technically the _Moby Dick II_ , but no one called it that) seaworthy, no one could bring themselves to suggest recruiting more crew to help manage her. They were family, and only their Father had ever been permitted to decide whether anyone else could join. And after Teach, they did not trust anyone else, afraid of an enemy agent joining them.

Still walking, Marco passed a bunch of men and women sparring, a result of a radical shift in ship policy. That the former nursing staff were participating that is, the constant training for the men had been a part of their lives long before Marineford.

Everything seemed in order, so Marco continued his routine.

All too soon however, night had fallen, and there was nothing else that Marco could justify doing around the ship without tipping anyone off to how he really felt. How close to breaking he really was.

With some trepidation, Marco laid down in his hammock to sleep.

 **-0-0-0-**

The world Marco awoke to was something new.

It was a rocky island, but coloured a comfortable brown, with the rays of the sun playing upon them. Yet he only vaguely glimpsed this, as he took in the sight of the figures before him as they watched the spectacle.

They were facing away from him, but he would recognize those hundreds of men anywhere. Atop of the highest stone pillars were two in particular: one in a light blue outfit with a brown pompadour and two swords sheathed at his side, the other with wild black hair, a red bead necklace, and the Jolly Roger of the Whitebeard Pirates emblazoned across his muscular back, whole and pristine.

Before them all was the rising dawn, its growing light silhouetting them so that before Marco's eyes, they increasingly appeared to be enveloped in a warm glow.

He stared in shock, fighting to speak while wondering why they were so quiet, why were they not looking at him? _Are they that upset with me? My failures!?_ Marco feared, now paralyzed by this hell. Then he was snapped out of these thoughts as a voice spoke behind him. One that sent shivers down his spine despite all these years.

"The dead cannot face the living, Phoenix," the man behind him spoke. Anyone hearing those words would know that this was a man who lived his life to the fullest, wearing his emotions upon his sleeves as he laughed at whatever life threw at him. Or, as Marco remembered all too well, was as terrible as the mightiest storm when roused to anger. "Otherwise, my beloved's son, and all his brothers, and your brothers too of course, would be the ones talking to you now. This is the most they can do to show that they are still with you."

"And why are you here, Pirate King?" Marco asked, his tone steady, even as he tensed for a fight. With some effort he managed to regain his customary drawl. "After all, you're dead too. Kinda famous for it, really."

The laughter that boomed out nearly made him jump, but he knew from the timbre of it that he was safe.

"This is a dream, you daft fool! A time when the living and the dead can meet! As for why _I'm_ here," and Marco could _hear_ those teeth locking together in a fierce grin, "I'm here to tell you that my one true heir has taken to the seas again!"

As shocking as the implication was, Marco was no fool. " _Straw Hat?_ " he hissed. "You're telling me that since you've become a ghost you've been trying to manipulate the path of the living? Did you really fall so low? A pirate is to be free and choose his own path, the seas we sail offers no handouts, and thus the title King must be _earned_ , not given. You and your accomplishments are _dead_ , you have no say in who wears the crown now. We aren't your pawns!"

The following silence was heavy and oppressive, but Marco was calm and composed now, firmly on familiar ground. Finally Roger coolly spoke. "You are perfectly correct about what being a pirate is all about, indeed those very traits are part of _why_ Straw Hat is my heir. Yet I'm still disappointed in Whitebeard, for keeping that one secret to himself, for whatever reason. He should have told you about the D's."

Marco brow furrowed slightly in confusion; he and his brother's had discussed the irony that both Teach and Straw Hat had that same weird middle name that popped up from time to time, but had dismissed it since no one seemed to know if it actually meant anything.

Then the former King sighed. "I guess he didn't want to burden you with the whole story, or thought it didn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but," and now his voice hardened, "I'll have to have a talk with him. Or just hit him a few times to get him to see his blunder."

Blue fired roared around Marco, casting fierce shadows that conflicted his measured words. "Dead or alive, the Whitebeard Pirates do not _tolerate_ threats to our family."

Yet Roger merely gave a bark of joy "And never forget it! I'm glad to see you feel that way. Despite everything your spirit remains unbroken, which you and the whole world will need in the dark days ahead. Events which will either consume you, or see you through to the true Dawn. For on the seas ahead, hold on to your one true compass: that you never forget whose Son you are, and what that tattoo on your chest stand for!"

Whatever else Marco might have said was drowned out by the uproarious laughter behind him, until it was sharply cut off.

A shifting of the air, and the Phoenix knew he was alone, and his brothers were gone too.

 **-0-0-0-**

The world suddenly shifted under his feet as the rocky island vanished, and Marco found himself at a beach now. One that was not so much familiar to him, as it was etched into his very heart.

Up ahead, sitting down on the pristine sand, was a towering yet reassuring figure, his Pride emblazoned upon his white coat. This island was within Paradise, but that was not the reason why they had never returned. Unspoken between them was the desire never risk sullying their memories of this place. Where their Family had first been formed.

"The dead cannot advise the living," the man gruffly spoke. "Nor tell them anything they will not learn upon awaking." The massive shoulders shrugged in apology. "Come the morning, you probably won't even remember this conversation, or the specifics at least, but I can tell you this: I'm proud of you. All of you. Know that my love is with you. Always."

A single tear escaped Marco, and he knew his Father was silently crying as well. "I know."

 **-0-0-0-**

"Marco! Marco!" Vista barked as he burst straight through the door without even wasting time opening it. "The morning paper!"

With a lazy, smug grin, Marco said looking straight at the eyes of his brother, without bothering to glance at the newspaper Vista was holding for him to see.

"I know. He's back. Straw Hat's back!"

 **And now...**

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:  
Inspired by "Light My Fire" by alicat54** **, particularly with Whitebeard.**

 **The actions of the Daughters of Whitebeard, his former medical staff, will be addressed in Chapter 11.**

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 **Recommended fics:**

 **"** **Strawhat Logic" by Vortex82**

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 **Next Chapter: "Stand Up"**

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 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**

 **Who will get review #100!?**


	10. Stand Up

I do not own One Piece

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Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has written some pretty amazing stuff for One Piece.

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Rise from the Ashes

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Chapter 10: Stand Up

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 **The prize for my 100** **th** **review goes to chelsss1, but seriously I am just so stoked about getting over** ** _one hundred_** **reviews for this story. This was only originally meant to be a one-shot, you know? You guys and your support has just been the best!**

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 **Chapter for events yet to happen...**

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"So you're names' Oars too?" Luffy called up to the massive figure.

"Yeah, I'm a descendent of Oars the 'Continent Puller'."

"Cool! We fought him two years ago. His zombie I mean. With my shadow animating it."

"Really!? That _is_ cool!" 'Little' Oars Jr. gasped.

"Glad he's not upset about his ancestor being desecrated," Usopp sweatdropped, standing half behind Zoro in case this giant of giants had yet to make that connection.

"I like your hat by the way," Luffy added, pointing at the straw hat on Oars' head. It must be the most gigantic hat ever! Which was awesome! Few people seemed to respect how important hats were. How precious they could be!

Surprisingly, the ultra-sized giant burst into tears at that, and Luffy could not make out what he was trying to say between sobs. Still, he did not intrude because it was clear it was serious for his new friend. After a few moments, Marco stepped in to explain.

"Your brother Ace personally made Oars that hat, and he says it's the best gift anyone ever got him, even more than that giant sword," he gestured at oversized cleaver, "that Pops fixed up for him. He was so determined to save Ace, but he ended up being thrashed by three of the Warlords before you showed up. Thanks again for taking out Doflamingo by the way. It really made Oars smile when he heard about that."

Bending down, Oars was about to thank his new little friend for that, when something made him stop. Luffy's titular hat was shading his eyes, while one hand grasped it protectively.

"Oh, I understand," he said, only his crew really hearing the emotions that Luffy was trying to choke off. "That hat is your most important treasure, it reminds of your friend, his love and care to you and yours to him."

Solemnly Oars nodded in agreement, glad to see Straw Had understood.

Instantly Luffy switched gears with his customary and deplorable lack of tack. "Was Mingo the one to cut off your leg?" he asked, while pointing at the stump.

"Yes," Marco answered, despite his twitching eyebrow and need to translate 'Mingo.'

"And now I can't help my brothers fight!" cried Oars. "I'm _useless_ now!"

"Hey, don't worry!" Luffy cheerfully yelled back. "I've met two guys who could still fight despite one leg, and they're still awesome!"

"But I've **tried!** " Little Oars Jr. wailed. "I wanted to still fight for my brothers against Blackbeard, especially against Sanjuan Wolf the 'Colossal Battleship,' but I'm just too clumsy! I'd just get in the way!"

"Ah don't worry," Luffy repeated, his grin somehow stretching even further, "if that won't work, I've got another idea!"

"Do you really?"

Then Luffy's expression hardened, showing a hint of that which he usually kept buried deep within him, away from the light of day. "You went to Marineford to save my brother Ace, and you were willing to lay down your life doing so, but it only cost you your leg."

For anyone else, such cavalier disregard for _amputation_ would have been a mortal insult.

Yet somehow, the way that Luffy said it made it alright. Instead Oars found himself thinking of how much he had to offer and experience because he was still alive.

"So I'm going to do all I can to make sure you can enjoy yourself to the fullest, just like you wanted Ace to do when you went to get him back from the marines."

With that Luffy held up his fist to Oars, and with only the barest hesitation the massive being held out his own hand.

The sheer size of that fist blocked out everything before Luffy, but he did not waver as Oars brought down his own fist to make Luffy's, knocking them together.

A symbol of respect between two men who had lost a beloved brother, and would do anything to protect the rest of their makeshift family.

And two men who understood the importance of straw hats.

 **-0-0-0-**

The Navy had finally assembled a task force to finish off Straw Hat Luffy once and for all, along with his ever-growing alliance. Previous attempts to nip the troublemaker in the bud had failed, and no one wanted to know what madness would be inflected upon the world if he kept breathing any longer.

Elite marines had been assembled for this, but the commanding officer had decided a little shock and awe was required to soften them up. Thus, the first to land upon the island and advance were all of the Navy's Giants, ready to crush the criminal scum. Yet all of them tensed at a familiar voice roaring a challenge at them, and beads of sweat appeared as they remembered the beating they had endured from their even larger counterpart.

"Don't worry," Vice-Admiral Lacroix reassured them, resisting the urge to rub the scar tissue underneath his brown suit. "Remember, he's a cripple now."

Remembering this, they all smiled as their self-confidence returned and waited with anticipation for payback as their nemesis came into view.

Then the Giants blinked as they realized that Oars Jr. was energetically _striding_ towards them. As in on _two_ feet.

One of his legs was now an absurdly large prosthetic limb, far outstretching what anyone should have been capable of building. "I'm glad you guys are here!" Oars bellowed. "You're perfect to test this on!"

With a little of bit of difficulty maintaining his balance, he lifted his new leg so that his foot was pointed at the stupefied marine Giants, who belatedly realized what the little "decorations" studding the prosthesis really were: machine guns with barrels that were wider than most cannons.

Oars opened fire.

A frenetic orgy of kinetic doom hammered into the Navy's shock troopers, making the earth tremble as they collapsed in agony. Unfinished, Oars' overwhelming barage then thundered into the warships, sinking most them while he ignored the futile attempts by their own artillery.

With the battleships destroyed, the marines had lost their main support, but as soon as the guns stopped firing, the undaunted survivors moved to storm the beach still.

Unconcerned, Oars raised his massive fists above his head, locked together the tops of his forearms, and with deep frown on his face of someone determined to get it perfect, he cried out to the world:

" **SUUUUUPPPEEER!** "

Down below on the ground, a proud "Cyborg" Franky was also doing the Pose, ever so proud of his patient and disciple.

All along the giant leg, Oars' crew gleefully reloaded more cannonballs so that their Captain could fire again, and checking that the weapons were functioning safely, "This is too sweet!" one called to a crewmate.

"You mean SUPER!"

"YAAAAH! SUUUUUPER" everyone else yelled, mirroring their Captain's pose.

"No air cannons?" Duke Dogstorm asked, eyeing the chaos with a critical eye as the dog mink walked forward on his own prosthetic leg.

"Naaah, too dangerous that someone else might figure it out," Franky dismissed. "The machine guns are pushing it as it is. Trust me, nothing good comes from letting SUPER weapons get out of your personal sight."

"Well, whatever you say," Master Cat Viper grinned with all his fangs shown, ready to test out his new metal arm. Being able to hold his double-sided spear with both 'hands' again was nice –no fantastic!— of course, but he really, _really_ wanted to test out what else his friend had built into the limb. Something Franky had called it a 'chainsaw.' According to him, Viper might even find more SUPER than his spear.

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 **Author Notes:**

 **"** **Frenetic orgy of kinetic doom" is quoted from** **Howard Tayler's webcomic: "Schlock Mercenary." Read it.**

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 **Recommended fics:**

 **"** **Shanks's Choice" by rose7anne101**

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 **Next chapter: 'Punk Hazard'**

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 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	11. Punk Hazard

I do not own One Piece

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Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has written some pretty amazing stuff for One Piece.

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Rise from the Ashes

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Chapter 11: Punk Hazard

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Pacing back and forth upon the _Moby Dick II_ 's deck, Marco kept checking the water to see if his brothers had returned from their reconnaissance of Fishman Island and paying their respects to King Neptune.

Around him his brothers continued maintaining the ship and their endless training. These particular waters were infested with something inhabitants of the boring Blues would call the offspring of a clam and a squid…which then had children with a crocodile-horse hybrid. _Having two heads, with one on either end, is pretty rare_ , Marco dully acknowledged. Just enough to break the tedium to their daily schedule.

Yet he knew there was honestly no need for him to be waiting around up here. Yes, they had to stay on constant alert for enemy pirates, or any marines waiting for pirates to surface from Fishman Island, but there were plenty of other people on watch, and even if Izo, Vista, Haruta, and Namur had immediately turned around upon arrival, it would still take them at least another hour to get back.

 _Alright, time to man up_ , Marco finally admitted, knowing that he had procrastinated long enough.

With a surprising amount of trepidation for man who had lived for so long as he had, and could just heal away nearly any injury, he made his way to the ship's personal hospital. When Pops had been alive, it had been a bustling center with some of the most advanced medical developments outside of places like Drum Kingdom. The superior technology and practices here had not only kept Whitebeard alive and fit far past his prime, but had ensured that any injured family members were up and fighting again with breathtaking speed.

That was two years ago.

Marco's Sisters had been…upset when Pops had sent the ladies off his ship to Fishman Island in preparation for their arrival at Marineford. He had been gentle but firm, and the most dangerous man in the world had clearly been working to hold back some tears of his own as he sent his Daughters away. But he had firmly held to his stipulation from when they had all first joined: that no women would be permitted to fight (barring emergency self-defense) while sailing under his flag. And so the nurses and doctors who made up the medical staff had anxiously waited for their Father and Brothers to come home. Come home with Ace.

When they had learnt how their beloved brother had died, how _many_ had died so tragically of their own wounds, the grief had almost crushed them.

And then Straw Hat had rung the Ox Bell.

For the Sons of Whitebeard, it had been what they needed to relight the fires within them for something more than just vengeance. For the gentle looking nurses and doctors in their pink miniskirts and leopard-pattern stockings, it had told them that war would be coming again, and they had all vowed to be there next time. When they had all joined the crew, they had all pledged to obey the laws of the Whitebeard Pirates, including not to get involved in fights; but the man they had sworn fealty to was now dead, and they would not tolerate losing any more family when they could help.

Since he refused to take up the title of Captain, Marco could not even order them to 'cooperate,' relying solely on his own personal authority. When his Sisters had confronted him about their new ambition, like all of his Brothers he suffered from too many years of both gentlemanly teaching from their Father, and held too great of an instinctive fear of the women who ruled the hospital to dare to outright _order_ them to stay in the hospital. Therefore he had decided to play it safe and try to reason with them, saying it would be too dangerously distracting for them to fight; that they would be too inexperienced to bear the horrors that lay ahead, and that having to protect them would put their Brothers at inexcusable risk.

If the doctors were all dead or injured, who would heal everyone else?

But they bore the Mark of Whitebeard too, and his Daughters had been no less chosen for their spirits of steel and love for freedom, and they had endured the horrors of the New World as much as anyone. Their bodies acclimatized to the rigors of these harsh seas, and had faced and overcome their own share of monsters even before joining the Family. The men were worried that the 'girls' would be too vulnerable on the battlefield while trying to help their Brothers? Fine then.

They were all children of the sea and born equal, but now it was time for them make sure they were _treated_ that way (not that they loved their Father and Brothers any less).

Overnight they had gone from a dozens of the world's best medics –now lacking their main patient— to a small army of angry and guilt driven women with far too much knowledge of human anatomy and how best to hurt people, along with far too much free time to gain further practical experience for the latter.

They had also thrown out all the miniskirts and high-heels they had worn while their Father had lived, trading them in for more practical clothing.

Finally arriving at the door, Marco gave a polite knock out of habit. "Come in!" a lovely voice called out. Impassively he walked in, taking in the rows of scalpels, knives, needles and darts, unfazed by all the glares he was getting. "If you're upset about how none of you got to go down to Fishman Island, then get stronger," he bluntly told them. If they did not want to be coddled, he would respect that. "Right now, none of you are that good yet-yoi."

Personally, Marco knew his sisters were correct that frontline combat medics would have been invaluable at Marineford. It may not have been enough to save Ace, but how many more would have lived if more doctors –ones who were not just members of the allied crews— had been present. To do so however, they had to be strong enough to protect themselves if necessary, but it was highly unlikely that they would become capable of being frontline fighters anytime soon.

(A true veteran of the New World never thought in terms of 'impossible' if he wanted to live)

He continued to ignore all the scowls, or the scalpel that nearly missed his face –none of them would miss unless they meant to— and continued, "But we should hear back within an hour at the absolute soonest."

One particularly striking blonde, Esmirel, who had always chided Pops for drinking too much, stalked forward, her shirt unzipped far enough to show the new tattoo of Whitebeard's Jolly Roger over her heart, and got right into her older brother's face. "And then what!? Are you planning to _forget_ to tell us when we even meet Straw Hat too!?"

Eyes narrowing a little now, Marco leaned closer in turn. "I didn't say anything when we were fighting Teach," another scalpel flew through the air to impale a battered picture of the traitor on the wall, "even when he started targeting you guys thinking it would throw us off, and I'm not keeping you out now. You want to be sent on more mission? Then get stronger!"

And then he turned around and walked away, his measured pace making it clear he was leaving because he wanted to, not because they intimidated him. Then he stopped and looked back, "Aren't you coming out? We're all waiting on edge out here for when Namur and the others get back with news, so we might as well do it together."

Without hesitation the rest of his Sisters got up and followed Esmirel out the door.

 **-0-0-0-**

It was not until nearly dinnertime when the four finally returned, dispatching quick orders that the ship and allied crews were to set sail immediately.  
"Pursuers?" one Brother professionally asked.

"No," Haruta reassured, "but we don't want to waste time either."

Everyone gathered in the mess hall where hot drinks and food were given to the investigators, who had bolted it down before letting the interrogation begin, while Marco hid his growing impatience.

With the last crumb gone, and all of the Division Commanders and Brother Captains assembled, Marco began.

"Was Straw Hat there?"

"No, we missed him by a week or so." No surprise there. Jinbe had been willing to give them more specific information about what Straw Hat was planning, but Marco had vetoed that, saying that it should stay an absolute secret. Two years, give or take, was enough information. Regrettably, a series of particularly bad storms had delayed their arrival at Fishman Island even further. Speaking of which…

"Did you meet up with Jinbe?"

"Yeeeah, turns out we just missed him. Because of everything that happened, he had to leave as quick as he could to handle some stuff with Big Mom. And an idiot rookie pirate causing trouble for the mermaids, but he got that sorted out."

From the very beginning, the Whitebeard Pirates had insisted that Jinbe and the Sun Pirates focus upon the protection of Fishman Island, which was now too vulnerable to slavers. Regrettably, that meant turning to one of the rulers of the New World for aid. Kadio had been unacceptable for countless reasons, Shanks had been geographically unsuitable and he was very picky about who he helped, but the insane female Emperor's ego had been stroked by both the offer of service from an ex-Warlord, and having an entire species under her protection given her goal of bringing together all of races in the world. The fact that it sounded like Jinbe had been forced to head out for what sounded like damage control for whatever "stuff" had happened, was decidedly ominous.

"So what happened?" Jozu quietly asked as he stepped forward, flexing his prosthetic arm.

"Short version?" Haruta asked with an impish grin that his brother's mirrored.

Sensing a trap, Marco went ahead anyways. "Sure."

"Straw Hat's crew of nine and Jinbe fought one hundred thousand enemy pirates, did more for Fishman-Human relations in one day than anyone's managed in two hundred years, and gave a personal challenge to Big Mom saying he would claim Fishman Island for his own."

Marco was proud of how he kept his eyes from bugging out and jaw from dropping like most of his family. Atmos had spit his beer into both Curiel and Kingdew's faces, not that they had noticed in their own shock. Esmirel expertly and absently slapped Rakuyo on the back to dislodge a piece of apple he was choking on. Throughout it all, the storytellers' eyes glinted in appreciation and further anticipation. "…Stop smirking and give us the longer version-yoi!"

Enthusiastically, with the odd interruption between the storytellers as they clarified a detail here or there, they laid out everything they had learnt.

When Haruta, Vista, and Izo finished, everyone was furiously talking with each other as they went over what they had heard...and reassured each other that _yes_ , their youngest brother had apparently done all that.

"I have to admit," Namur quietly spoke up for the first time, but something about him made everyone hush to listen, "a part of me never dreamt I'd see something like what I saw down there. I know that I'm accepted here, you are my family, and they say it's the same with Big Mom," albeit at the cost of a significantly reduced life expectancy, "but seeing how many of my people were now willing to accept humans now..." The fishman fell silent for a moment longer, his eyes holding a suspicious misty look to them that the others respectfully ignored. "I just wish Queen Otohime was alive to see her dream coming true," and he wiped a tear from his eye.

Silence hung over the room, until Marco chased it away. "Well, there's no doubt that Straw Hat hasn't lost his touch. And if he's doing that much for the Fishman, that's just another sign he's who we're hoping him to be!"

"Provided he lives long enough, running around challenging Emperors," Curiel dryly noted.

"That makes three so far," Vista agreed with a broad smile, then further joked, "That we know of, that is!"

"And how many times has he challenged the World Government?" Jiru barked with laughter.

"Oh, I ain't complaining!" Curiel grinned as he brought up a barrel of ale. "Makes life interesting!"

"Wait. Wait. Wait," Rakuyo interrupted. "What about 'Cotton Candy' Chopper! What did you learn about him? Who's right? Who wins the bet!?"

The four looked at each other and squirmed in embarrassment, remembering how they had realized they had forgotten to ask while sailing away. Speculation had flared up amongst the Whitebeard Pirates at how the Marines had taken the unusual, if not unprecedented, step of placing a bounty on while claiming he was but a pet. Yet his poster did not display anything of note aside from how adorable he was, and that he loved cotton candy. So why, the pirates wondered, was the Navy putting in the effort and money to make sure that everyone knew what he looked like and would pay attention to him? Was he really a 'pet,' or something else? The answer to this mystery was now backed by a fairly significant betting pool which made it all the more important.

King Neptune _might_ have said something about Chopper helping with Luffy's injuries, maybe in association with when Jinbe gave Luffy his blood, but honestly they could not remember any specifics. Or tell if they were right or not. "Whoops," Izo ruefully confessed.

"'Whoops'!?" everyone yelled or groaned, before Marco waved his hand to get their attention and they obediently silenced themselves. There was a time and place to contest his orders, and those were ridiculously rare in themselves, but not right now.

"Now that we're all settled down," Marco said. "There's three routes for Straw Hat to take, and knowing him, he'll probably take the most interesting one. The one the Log needles are the most wild in pointing to."

Everyone nodded in agreement, having come to this conclusion months ago. And besides, even if they were wrong, an island that did nothing but rain down endless lightning was always cool to look at.

 **-0-0-0-**

En route to Raijin Island

Captain 'Thunder Lord' McGuy sighed in disgust as he watched the scene the Den Den Mushi was projecting. Caesar Clown, perhaps the foremost underworld scientist, was showing off his newest invention to whoever might be interested, broadcasting it to a wide variety of potential clients. Underworld brokers who had the connections and interest to watch this newest display, if only to keep abreast on what their own competitors might purchase.

"If you don't want to watch it…" led 'Bohemian Knight' Doma suggestively.

"No, it's best to stay informed," the blond-haired man, said, handing the man and his monkey a beer each, "even if it's repulsive."  
"The man or his invention," the other smirked.

"Both," McGuy admitted. Doma had been his 'guest' ever since Marineford when his ship had been one of the casualties. By this point their crews were so intermingled there was no real point in even separating them.

They both turned their attention back to the screen just in time to see a very familiar figure tied up in a cage, and being introduced as a guinea pig for the weapon demonstration.

"Get Marco!"

 **-0-0-0-**

Marco, the Division Commanders, and every allied captain was crammed into the room to watch, and yet by the time they had all gotten there from their various ships, the scene had taken a drastic change.

Straw Hat –who was clearly _not_ on Raijin Island, or any of the other starting islands— had somehow escaped the toxic gas and was now inside the research facility and confronting the mad scientist himself.

All of this was after an **_infuriating_** wait as Caesar's operation suffered "technical difficulties." After an eternity however, the broadcast had started up again.

In a final and dramatic showdown, the young rookie had made perfectly clear how much of a threat someone worth 300 million berries was to him now, and completely humiliated what was supposed to be a proof-of-concept test for the "ultimate weapon."

That finishing move, "Grizzly Magnum," was the most entertaining thing they had seen in years!

And since it was recorded they could watch it again with booze!

Despite the show however, the pirates were all automatically processing what they were seeing:

 _Fully developed Armament Haki, and across both hands and such a wide surface area at that._

 _His giant limbs are different than from when he took out that marine giant, only the hands are enlarged. Greater mastery of his Devil Fruit?_

 _That gas is supposed to be poisonous to even touch, but he's unfazed. Is that fearlessness like Ace, or something else?_

All of this and more as they scrutinized even the most minute detail.

 _His eyes,_ Marco finished. _Yes. Ace's death might have nearly broken Straw Hat, but he rebuilt himself without losing any of his determination and self-confidence._

 _He's still the man we've been seeking, the one who challenged Pops. He's still the man who stood beside him surveying the war._

 _He's still the man we've been seeking._

 **-0-0-0-**

They moved outside the cramped cabin and on deck, not wishing to accidently take out a wall with oversized figures like Jozu, Atmos, Blenheim, or Kingdew packed inside.

"Alright, do we have the slightest idea where he is?"

"Given Caesar's ramblings back there," Jozu answered, "it's someplace hidden. So we've no clue wherever it could be. Moreover, we've no idea how he's traveling now, or how fast if he skipped right past the three starting routes." Unspoken was how such a secret underworld lab would not be placed at one of the beginning islands of the New World. Ergo, something unusual must have happened to make Straw Hat appear further into this ocean in such a very short period of time.

"Yeah," Marco sighed with annoyance, "which means we've got to try and figure out where he's going. _Again_."

"Great, just great," Haruta muttered, with some of the others voicing complaints at how difficult it was to find the little brother they were trying to help.

"It's worse than that," and everyone turned at the sound of tension –and concern?— in Doma's voice. "Caesar works directly for Joker, which is an alias for—."  
"Doflamingo," Marco grimly finished. This was bad. And not in the same way that Big Mom was "bad."

The smiling Warlord who had slaughtered so many of them during the War. Who had forced men like Atmos to attack his Brothers, and had cut off Oars' leg…

Not that the ruthless Emperor was not a serious and insidious threat to people, but she was likely to regard Straw Hat as a rookie at this stage, preferring to wait for him to come to her and be crushed by her subordinates, rather than seeking him out herself.

The Heavenly Demon however was another story, especially given the provocation of publicly (in the criminal world) losing who was likely his foremost scientist. He would not just retaliate against Straw Hat with overwhelming power –although the kid may have grown strong enough to blunt that— but also with naked cunning and intelligence. Donquixote Doflamingo was an old hand at dirty tricks, and Straw Hat would be assailed by liars and fakers, poisoned food, assassins, tailored traps, tip offs to the Navy, and whatever else it took to prove to the underworld that Doflamingo was still its undisputed master, the king of webs and shadows. This was an entirely different form of warfare.

"Marco," Doma began, resolve firm in his stance, "if we have to, we'll take down Doflamingo."

"That'll bring Kaido down after us from what I've heard, he's supposed to be Joker's biggest customer," McGuy warned, but in a way that told everyone that he would bear the consequences along with the rest of them.

"Can't make him hate us any less," Curiel sneered.

"I thought Straw hat was just picking a fight with Big Mom," Izo groaned. "And he'll already want to take on Teach, and then there's Shanks too!"

"Oh yeah," Vista nodded in remembrance, grimacing as he remembered his oddly prophetic joke from before. "Like I've said, judge the kid by his enemies."

"You shouldn't encourage him, he's bad enough as it is," Haruta deadpanned.

"You're just jealous," Namur snickered.

They continued their banter while Marco frowned in thought, before speaking aloud. "If we take down Joker, Doflamingo, then the whole New World will be thrown into chaos, and that will ripple across the rest of the seas. Everyone in the underworld here has some connection to him, and both he and others have interests in other seas, legitimate or otherwise."

"If one gang loses what Joker supplies or the deals he brokers," Jozu clarified for his less…worldly siblings, "then everyone else that they do business with will lose profits too, or be unable to get what they want. A domino effect that will spread beyond just the New World. Weapons, booze, drugs, whole markets will collapse without the supply lines Doflamingo has arranged with his connections and Warlord immunity, not to mention the deals for Devil Fruits."

"Everyone this'll touch will get desperate, and start fighting each other, leaving blood in the water," the shark-like Namur observed with barred teeth. "They'll start fighting each other for the money and goods they need to survive, and then try to take over what's left of Joker's empire. It'll be a frenzy that'll spill out of control!"

In any other sea, it might not be as bad, but this was the New World. Some might just pack up and go elsewhere, or retire to a comfortable and law abiding lifestyle, yet they would be decidedly in the minority. Those who had survived to make a name for themselves in the underworld here were the most determined, violent, dangerous, cunning, and none of them would abandon what they had struggled and suffered for. They would stand their ground to fight for what was theirs, no matter how desperate it might be.

The repercussions outside of the New World were harder to calculate, but Marco had no delusions that there would be none, and that the ripples –no matter how big they were— of whatever happened globally would wash back to this sea, further stirring an already chaotic situation.

Grimacing, Izo nodded in agreement. "That's one of the main reasons why no one challenges Doflamingo, he's tied everyone's economies so close together that everyone knows what'll happen if the system collapses."

"So the consequences of taking him out won't stay confined to the underworld," McGuy put in. "We'll be setting everything off, and even we'll have a tough time weathering it. The Traitor and the others could handle it, though Kaido will probably be the worst off, but he'll probably just try conquering more territory to make up for the loss."

"Which means even more madness and death," Marco concluded. "No, taking Doflamingo down is too risky right now. It'll enrage the entire New World, and everything'll stay together just long enough for everyone to try and crush us. Before we stir the pot, we've got to get ourselves into a stronger position so that we can survive whatever we set off. So we've got to play this quietly. We find Straw Hat and keep Doflamingo from getting at him."

The man in question was still a rookie after all, no matter how absurdly skilled and powerful, who had been lying low on the Paradise side of the Red Line. Even with someone like Rayleigh as a mentor, the man had been out of touch for years, unaware of how the New World had evolved to become even more fearsome and bloodthirsty. As veterans of the New World, the Whitebeard Pirates would be able to advise him on what he faced.

 **-0-0-0-**

The next day

"We've reeeally got to stop underestimating the kind of chaos he causes," Haruta deadpanned.

Marco said nothing, just re-reading the day's newspaper.

"So, just so we've got it clear. Doflamingo has suddenly resigned from power, causing the exact situation we were all worried about yesterday, and now Straw Hat's already in an alliance, with another of the Warlords."  
"And three others of the Worst Generation are in an alliance," Kingdew pointed out.

"Who cares?"

"But what is Straw Hat's connection with Law?" Izo murmured. "We thought that Law was just caged up by Caesar as a target of opportunity, but is it deeper than that?"

"That is the billion-Beri question," Jozu agreed. "First the Surgeon of Death shows up to save Straw Hat at Marineford, and now he risks his Warlord status for an alliance with him? Maybe they made an agreement two years ago? Even before he went to break into Impel Down?" They still had _no_ idea how he pulled that one off, especially since they had later learned that only a scant few days before he had been far off on the Sabaody Archipelago. Yet somehow he had still traveled the necessary distance, entirely on his own apparently, to penetrate the fearsome prison despite, among other things, how it was stuck right in the Calm Belt and surrounded by Sea Kings. They suspected that their dear friend Jinbe had an idea on how Straw Hat pulled it off, but the man had not volunteered anything and they had not pressured him.  
"Jinbe would have said something about that," Namur argued, "and he openly said that the only thing he was keeping secret was where Straw Hat was hiding and who he was with, saying it was not his secret to give, but that he was confident the kid was safe."

"But the Heart Pirates spent the better part of a year in the New World earning their status as Warlord, with all if the privileges of being a government's dog, and spent the next year enjoying them!" Vista countered. "You don't throw that away on a whim."  
"Yeah, and it's the _Surgeon of Death_ we're talking about here!" growled Namur. "He's famous for his brutality! Who'd get mixed up with him? Even the other pirates steer clear of him!"

"Straw Hat got all the prisoners of Impel Down to work together," Haruta pointed out. "Ivankov and Jinbe helped, but it still worked out. Maybe he's got some sorta trick?"

"Or an offer that trumped being a warlord," Blenheim rumbled. When they looked at his serious expression he gave a firm nod. "I mean it. Trafalgar Law is still a pirate, he wouldn't get into something like this without a substantial payoff, something that was worth the risk to his government privileges."

Having wandered off to the side, Marco leaned against the rail with his eyes closed, soaking up the continuing discussion, waiting for the proper moment to speak up, even as he catalogued and assessed everything that was said.

 **-0-0-0-**

Away from the group huddled around the sole morning newspaper, the rest of the brothers and sisters were passing along the details of what was in the article and the ongoing debate. Unfortunately, like the child's game of 'Den-Den Mushi,' as the information passed from one sibling to the next, the stories became increasingly…distorted.

"Do you think Straw Hat's replacing Doflamingo as a Warlord?"

"Everything will be thrown into chaos!"

"I bet Doflamingo quit so that he could join Law! That Straw Hat's making an alliance with all of the Warlords, like he did with Crocodile and Jinbe at Marineford!"

"Do you think they'll go fight Doflamingo?"

"Do you think they've already fought Doflaming?"

"Straw Hat seems pretty tough, maybe he can actually beat Doflamingo. And Law has a pretty good bounty too."

And then the gossip really got going…

"Straw Hat and Law beat Doflamingo!?"

"No way! He beat a second Warlord!?"

"We haven't proven about Crocodile yet!" snapped one Brother.

"Doflamingo's been around for a long time, and his former bounty was a large one, right? That's still really impressive even if another Warlord was helping."

Even further down the line…

"Straw Hat went straight to Dressrosa with just his eight crewmembers and beat Doflamingo's whole organization singlehandedly!"

"No, not all the members were there!"

"What? Seriously?"

"Where were they then? On vacation!?"

"Maybe he knew he didn't need them?"

"No, it can't be true."

"I heard them say he cracked the island in half with a single punch!"

"Are you all idiots!?" Atmos the Water Buffalo exploded, having wandered over since the discussion between the Division Commanders and Captains had died down. "We've seen nothing that says he even fought Doflamingo, he just defied him!" The giant man was very sensitive about the Warlord after the sadist had forced him to fight and hurt and kill his own brothers. _I wish we_ were _taking you down, Heavenly Demon, but we can't take the risk right now. But someday soon…_

 **-0-0-0-**

That afternoon

The slight frown on Marco's face told everyone that knew him that he was worried, extremely worried.  
"That article was a misprint?" Vista questioned with obvious skepticism as he looked at the newspaper, which for the first time in his memory had been delivered the same day as the morning version. Except this one had some crucial differences. "Has that ever happened before?"

"Now and then, but never for something important enough to warrant printing another newspaper for later that very day," Marco flatly answered.

"And something about a Warlord's status is something they'd want to be sure of before printing it in the first place," Haruta shouted. "For crying out loud, he's willing to follow orders or he isn't, it's not that difficult a problem!"

"Was it a threat to Doflamingo from the World Government?" Izo wondered aloud. "Saying they would strip of his status unless he did something, and this was to pressure him?"

"No, it's too destabilizing. They want to keep up the image that the government and the system are flawless," Marco replied, and something in his tone made everyone turn to look at him. "The World Government wouldn't have made such a mistake, which means, as impossible as it sounds, it was deliberate. They _wanted_ to fool everyone into thinking Doflamingo had left the Warlords and all the protections it would offer him!"

"But that doesn't make sense," Izo argued, seeing where Marco was going with this. "Sure, Straw Hat and Law are causing him trouble, and they fought the scientist working on the SMILES, yet a pirate, even a Warlord, can't have that kind of authority to fool the world like that just to make two pirate crews think he was vulnerable. And it's too much of a coincidence that this happens the day after they beat Caesar!"

"…We can't underestimate that man," Jozu finally rumbled, remembering his own helplessness against the Heavenly Demon. His massive strength and powers rendered impotent until members of the Third Division had driven the Warlord off with weapon's fire.

"We're setting a course for Dressrosa, that's where we'll find Straw Hat," Marco declared. "What happens there…we'll play by ear.

 **-0-0-0-**

The next morning…

"EVERYONE WAKE UP! STRAW HAT'S DONE IT AGAIN!"

Stumbling out of his private cabin, which was festooned with paperwork and maps, the First Division Commander made his way to where the early-morning watch of his Sisters and Brothers were huddled around the morning paper. _Oh, what now!?_ he wondered with something approaching despair. He had been up all night doing planning sessions, he had not had his coffee yet, and he had been having a pleasant dream –a sadly rare occurrence— involving beautiful women from an exotic island whose male population had died out, fried potatoes, and broomsticks that helped you fly, and it had all made total sense!

"It's only been one day!" Marco groaned. "Not even a week since he came to the New World!"

Then he saw the headline.

 **"Doflamingo Falls!**

 **"Guilty of International Crimes!**

 **"Straw Hat Luffy and Ex-Warlord Trafalgar Law Defeat him in Pitched Battle!"**

Below in smaller print were the titles for smaller articles:

"The Dark Truth of Dressrosa; Naval Admiral Fujitora and Marines Prostrate in Apology!"

"King Riku Dold III Absolved and Returns to Throne."

"Straw Hat's Alliance with the Traitor Trafalgar Law Confirmed."

"International Royals Secretly held Captive within Dressrosa by Doflamingo Returning Home."

Marco blinked, he begun reading from the start again. He opened his mouth but nothing coming out. Finally he weakly uttered.

"Wha…?"

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **I may have missed something, but it really is surprising how condensed the events of the Dressrosa arc are in terms of time. The Straw Hats rise to the surface in the New World and promptly arrive on Punk Hazard. They capture Caesar, and the next day Doflamingo resigns and meets Law and then everything else that happens? Man can the** ** _Sunny_** **sail fast!**

 **The part with the medical staff was inspired by chapter three of "** **Theories and Backstory and Head-Canons, Oh My!** **"** **by Sarcasticles.**

 **-0-**

 **Recommended fics:**

 **"** **reflections on broken waves," by Freefan1412**

 **"** **When Nekomamushi finds Marco** **"** **by MeanderCat**

 **"** **He Can Play Anything" by MasterQwertster**

 **"** **Storyteller" by midnite-republic**

 **"** **Little Things" by MadRabbit**

 **"** **Ask Why" by Suseri Otsusuki**

 **"** **I command your breasts to grow!" by MeanderCat**

 **"** **ReunionS" by both Rose7anne101 and Syrisna**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	12. Beating Weevil, Version 2

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has written some pretty amazing stuff for One Piece.

 **-0-0-0-**

Rise from the Ashes

 **-0-0-0-**

Chapter 12: Beating Weevil, Version 2

 **-0-0-0-**

 **A break from the main storyline, as it is something I just had to write.**

 **-0-0-0-**

"Well!?" Edward Weevil, the so-called Whitebeard Jr. boomed down at A.O, "Do you admit it!? Do yo admit that I'm Whitebeer's only son!? Or yo gonna die!?"

Captain A.O of the A.O Pirates coughed up some blood as he struggled to raise his head to look the childish man in the eye, "Whitebeard is…and always will…will be…my father. And if Whitebeard were …alive…he'd have already killed you."

Snorting, Weevil hefted up his bisento to kill A.O, the last survivor of both the crew and the burning city.

 _I'm sorry my brothers_ , A.O thought, refusing to take his eyes off his killer. _I won't be able to join you after all, but I know you'll see that the Old Man's legacy lives on. That our Little Brother will seize the New Era!_

 **-0-0-0-**

Later

(Non-canon to my knowledge as of One Piece chapter 879,

and future AU to my other chapters)

"See, my little Treasure!" cackled Miss Bakkin, the self-proclaimed 'Whitebeard's Lover.' "I told you that if we searched for Straw Hat, we'd find Marco and the Whitebeard Pirates!"

Luffy just blinked in confusion at the oversized man and the diminutive old lady. "Who're these wierdos?"

"What!?" Bakkin snapped. "Don't lie! You know precisely who we are! This is Edward Weevil, Whitebeard Junior! One of the Seven Warlords, and the one true son of the mighty Whitebeard! Who was my lover!" In response, Weevil puffed out his chest in pride at his mommy's words.

"Ehhhh! Ace's Father," Luffy gasped. "You're another one of Ace's nakama? I don't remember seeing you at Marineford!" Then he glanced at Bakkin, and tried to compare her to Hancock who kept using the word 'lover' about a year into his training, but could not make the connection. Ignoring this, he looked back at –What was his name? Eevil? Silly name— Eevil, who was looking strangely angry.

"I wouldna been at Marineford!" growled Weevil. "He was tha son of Roger, my Poppa's rival! I'd killed him maself!"

Now Luffy was starting to frown. "Whitebeard _was_ Ace's father!" he snapped. "And if you weren't Ace's nakama, than you weren't Whitebeard's kid either!." Then Luffy have him a once over, taking in the massive form, the oversized white mustache, the bisento, and the little black skull-cap. "And I don't believe that you're Whitebeard's birth son anyways. He wouldn't give such a stupid name like Eevil," some of the Whitebeard Pirates coughed at that, "and you don't look anything like him anyways," Luffy honestly finished with a huff.

"Yo don't!?" Weevil gasped in shock, his mind grasping onto the last bit. "But Mommy says I do!"

"Whitebeard was awesome looking, you aren't!" Luffy snapped, getting increasingly angry by all this nonsense. They were just about to settle down to a celebratory party when the duo had shown up and started spouting such nasty things. However, they had yet to get to the point where Luffy would lower himself to actually taking action about it. "Why're you even here!?"

"To deal with the false sons of the Whitebeard!" Bakkin accusingly cried out, aiming to reclaim the initiative. "The stole my darling boy's inheritance; and besmirch his father's good name!"

Luffy only got about half of that. "What's she talking about, Marco? If Ace was Whitebeard's Son, doesn't that make you guys his Sons too?"

The Straw Hats, Heart Pirates, citizens of Wano, and Minks, had been steadily making room for the Whitebeard Pirates this entire time ever since the joyful party had been interrupted. People like Zoro, Franky, Robin, Law, Master Cat Viper, and Duke Dogstorm, were unintimidated, but respected that this was a personal issue.

Everyone else was just backing away from the growing murderous wrath surrounding Marco and the others, which Luff was apparently cheerfully oblivious to.

Or, he was fully aware of, but did not give it the slightest thought since it was not directed towards him or his nakama.

"Yes, that's true, Straw Hat," Marco agreed, all of his Brothers and Sisters spread out behind him. "If you don't mind though, could you let us deal with this party crasher ourselves-yoi?"

"'Kay, but don't take too long, or else the meat'll be all gone!" Turning around, Luffy headed back to the campfire, confused as to why some of his friends appeared nervous. It was not as if any of them were in danger or anything.

"So, _Eevil_ ," Marco said, stressing the new nickname. "As entertaining as that was, I understand you've been looking for us. Wanting to challenge us over who is Whitebeard's Family or not?"

At a nudge from his mommy and a whispered prompt, Weevil began his ultimatum. "Yo failed my fadder when he needed yo most!" The air seemed to crack around Marco as he lowered his forehead. "But I'll spare yo if yo tell me where Whitebeer's treasure is! And say I'm his only son! Or I'll kill yo like da odders!"

"'Pop's treasure' you say?" quoted Marco in a calm, even voice.

All his Brothers and Sisters, _especially_ the Division Commanders, suddenly took a wary step back away from him.

"Kill us like you did all of those men and women who he called family?" Marco went on, seeming far too understanding that had killed not his allies, but his _friends_ and _Family_.

Luffy stopped before biting into his meat, setting it down beside him.

"You don't seem to get it," Marco drawled, slowly walking forward. "You just saw Pops and the shadow he cast. Overlooking me. Do you know what my bounty is? Well the thing is, that amount, the whole sum, is from before I became the First Division Commander. Before I took the mark of Whitebeard."

"Wha—?" the man-child grunted, and even his mommy seemed confused.

"When I first met him, do you know what I called Edward Newgate?"

Silence.

"I called him ' _Brat_ '."

Blue and gold fire licked up the sides of the slight, otherwise unimposing man as he kept walking forward, voice and expression unchanged. "I've been around these seas for a long time. A long, loooong time. Nowhere to go, hunted by the Marines who feared my power. No place to call home, no place to belong. Until Newgate. Until my Father."

Weevil blinked for a moment and then looked down at the razor talons that disappeared into his breastbone, "And you," Marco the Phoenix now snarled, arms forming wings to push himself back, legs becoming human feet again to drop the ripped out heart, " **You dare desecrate my Father's dreams!? His Family!?** "

Bakkin screamed and more than one pirate gasped in shock.

Disappearing again, Marco's fist smashed the massive Warlord from behind, crushing him and the ground down into a crater.

" **WE.** "

[Punch]

" **ARE.**

[Punch]

" **THE SONS.**

[Punch]

" **OF WHITEBEARD!** "

[Punch]

With each punctuation he hit again, driving the dying man deeper and deeper into the ground.

Finally, the dust started to clear while Marco stood up, not a hitch in his breathing. Despite how his back was still to his Brothers and Sisters, they all still clearly heard what he said next.

" _We_ , are his Treasure."

Then he deigned to coldly look, at quivering, terrified supposed lover of his Father, and dryly added. "That is the only treasure he ever desired." Unsaid were the words, ' _If you really were his lover you would had known that.'_ They did not need to be spoken aloud however, even Luffy got the message. While a little surprised at the violence, he respected that everyone dealt with offenses to their personal Treasure in their own manner. He was however interested in asking Marco more about haki given that demonstration and how old he said he was.

Then Marco paused, his vengeful aura vanishing as if it had never been, while idly scratching his head. "And Pops couldn't flirt with a girl to save his life anyways. Almost got us killed once even."

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **I know I did an earlier version with Zoro, but I would like to see this too. Might do one where Luffy gives the smackdown too, but man is Weevil's manner of speech annoying!**

 **-0-**

 **Recommended fics:**

 **"How to Save an Overprotective Brother" by Alia Inverse**

 **"Second Wind" by the-lost-samurai**

 **"Second Chance" by Chibi-Twan**

 **-0-**

 **Next Chapter: 'Dressrosa'!**

 **(Finally :-P )**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	13. Dressrosa

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has written some pretty amazing stuff for One Piece.

 **-0-0-0-**

Rise from the Ashes

 **-0-0-0-**

Chapter 13: Dressrosa

 **-0-0-0-**

The next morning…

"EVERYONE WAKE UP! STRAW HAT'S DONE IT AGAIN!"

Stumbling out of his private cabin, which was festooned with paperwork and maps, the First Division Commander made his way to where the early-morning watch of his Sisters and Brothers were huddled around the morning paper. _Oh, what now!?_ he wondered with something approaching despair. He had been up all night doing planning sessions, he had not had his coffee yet, and he had been having a pleasant dream –a sadly rare occurrence— involving beautiful women from an exotic island whose male population had died out, fried potatoes, and broomsticks that helped you fly, and it had all made total sense!

"It's only been one day!" Marco groaned. "Not even a week since he came to the New World!"

Then he saw the headline.

 **"Doflamingo Falls!**

 **"Guilty of International Crimes!**

 **"Straw Hat Luffy and Ex-Warlord Trafalgar Law Defeat him in Pitched Battle!"**

Below in smaller print were the titles for smaller articles:

"The Dark Truth of Dressrosa; Naval Admiral Fujitora and Marines Prostrate in Apology!"

"King Riku Dold III Absolved and Returns to Throne."

"Straw Hat's Alliance with the Traitor Trafalgar Law Confirmed."

"International Royals Secretly held Captive within Dressrosa by Doflamingo Returning Home."

Marco blinked, he begun reading from the start again. He opened his mouth but nothing coming out. Finally he weakly uttered.

"Wha…?"

He looked around, and everyone else was as stupefied as him. Marco had not seen so many dropping jaws since Big Mom had sent that marriage proposal. Unlike last time, there were no following hysterical laughter, or blood as the emissary had taken offense.

 _Is it going to be like this every day when I wake up to get the morning paper?_

 **-0-0-0-**

Buzzing with adrenaline, the pirates were impatiently waiting for Marco to finish reading each and every article aloud.

Even as his words carried across the deck, the newest wanted posters for the Straw Hat Pirates were passed around with near reverence. All of their bounties had jumped up, including by a _100 million_ for three of them! Straw Hat Luffy was now worth 500 million, almost as much as Ace had been!

(Thinking about that brought them pride, with only a touch of sorrow)

Just as importantly, all of the photos had been updated from two years ago, generating a new storm of speculation.

"What happened to the Pirate Hunter's eye?"

"Wow! These ladies have only become even more gorgeous!"

"What's with Blackfoot's bounty? 'Only Alive'? What's with that?"

"Dunno, never seen that before."

"Tony-Tony Chopper is not a pet!"  
"Then explain his bounty poster, man!"

"He looks even more cuter here"

"They only added another 50."

They were especially confused with the newest image of 'Cyborg' Franky, and how his face now appeared to be entirely made of metal.

"What'd he do!?" Haruta blanched. "Turn his whole body into robot or something?" He paused. "That's awesome!"

"And improbable," Jozu rumbled, while absently rubbing his own prosthetic limb, which to his frustration was much weaker than his previous –and inhumanely strong— arm. "How'd he get that sort of technology? Unless that's a helmet?"

"EEEEEEEEEEE! THE SOUL KING IS ONE OF HIS CREWMATES!?" shrieked a high-pitched voice.

Massaging their ears, everyone turned to glare at Curiel until what he had said sunk in.

"Wait? You mean the international musical sensation…was one of Straw Hat's crew the whole time? What the heck were they doing during those two years!?"

"And the skeleton is 'Dead Bones' Brook? What the heck? Did he have that epithet before or after, well, he became a skeleton? What kind of Devil Fruit did he even eat?"

"The World Government will probably ban his music."

"Which only means the value for copies of it are going to skyrocket now!" At that, some slunk off to hide their own Tone Dials.

On reflex, someone starting singing 'On Wild, Free Waves,' one of Soul King's bit hits.

"And they will carry you from adventure, to adventure~~"

"Shut up, you're tone deaf!"

"Huh, and to think it was a pirate singing that this whole time! Gah ha ha ha! Imagine what the Navy's thinking right now!"

"Har har har!"

'God' Usopp had also attracted heavy attention, as individuals went over his poster and confirmed that his nose indicated he was originally Sniper King—whose bounty had skyrocketed up the most by _170_ million.

"Man is he ugly. No wonder he wore a mask before."

"Yeah, but the Navy is calling him 'God'? What on the Seas for? He must be incredibly strong to pull of that kind of bounty raise. Maybe he has some strange powers?"

The older and more mature Foss and Blenheim were concerned for Blackfoot however. "You ever see an 'Only Alive' before?" Fossa asked between his cigar.

"Yeah," his fellow swordsman rumbled. "Whenever the World Government wanted someone very specific for something, and only that person. Usually, even when they want them bad, they still say 'Dead or Alive' because they hope their own marines will do it, or count on people wanted the full price as opposed to the 30% reduction if it's just a corpse. Yet here they're desperate to get their hands on him, and are all but screaming that to the world!"

"My thoughts exactly." Both men resolved to discuss this with Marco at length later. In hindsight, they realized they did not really know too much about the man, outside of persistent rumours of him being the former sous chef of a famous East Blue restaurant. Something about the idiot cooks there boasting about being affiliated with an infamous criminal and handing out copies of his poster…

"Their bounties are getting kinda weird if you ask me," 'Speed' Jiru noted to Namur, gently patting a stunned Atmos on the back. "I mean, have you ever heard of an entire crew getting a bounty? Even if it's just nine of them." For most pirate crews it was usually just the captain and his first-mate who warranted one. Even amongst the infamous Whitebeard Pirates it was only the Division Commanders and some of their stronger subordinates who had a price on their head.

"What I want to know is how they managed to do everything the papers are claiming, with only a crew of nine and Law. And yeah, I know one is an ex-Warlord and the other Straw Hat, it still almost to incredible to believe," Namur said, shooting Atmos another worried look. The 'Water Buffalo' was still trying to wrap his head around the fate that the man who had haunted his dreams nearly as much as images of the Traitor.

That the man who had reaped so many of their brothers at Marineford was now stripped of his title and imprisoned.

By Straw Hat Luffy, the very one the Whitebeard Pirates were trying to find so that he could help them strike bloody vengeance against Blackbeard.

 **-0-0-0-**

The anticipated rumblings spread across the covert channels of the underworld at the news that its foremost broker –the one man trusted to enact fair deals between the bloodthirsty cutthroats of the seas, and ensure delivery— had fallen. The man that so many depended upon to gain power, or hold onto it. The means to protect their lifeblood, or fight their wars.

Gone. All gone.

"Ha, ha, ha! Serves them right!" Vista crowed as he and the others listened to the newest reports.

"It's just like we feared," Marco said, scratching his forehead. "You can bet everyone wants a pound of Straw Hat and Law's flesh now."

"At least that alliance of theirs appears to be holding up," Izo pointed out. "After being stripped of his Warlord status and angering Kaidou, Law doesn't really have many other options."

"That's two of the seven the Government's going to need to replace soon, or the whole system will be put to shame," Jozu smirked, while the others crowed with a distinct lack of sympathy.

"That system really _has_ taken a beating over the last few years," Marco nodded. "But that's only going to make them hate Straw Hat even more." He started ticking off his fingers. "Crocodile we _think_ , then Jinbe and Crocodile fight alongside Straw Hat—"

"And Jinbe beat Moriah without breaking a sweat!" someone yelled.

"That too, and some said they saw Straw Hat beat Hancock while he was at it. Now Law's abandoned his title to ally with him, and together they both brought down another Warlord."

"Serves 'em right for being dogs!" Atmos spat.

"Agreed, but it's not going to make things any easier for Straw Hat."

Unsaid was the existence of the Warlord named Weevil, who had been hunting down both them and their allies.

"Back to the matter at hand," their ally Captain 'Thunder' McGuy reminded them. "The New World's in an uproar right now, and Straw Hat's made a lot of people with grudges against him right now. We've got to get to Dressrosa and find some sort of clue as to where he's going next!"

"He won't be stupid enough to stick around," Haruta moaned. "With the navy and enemy pirates after him, he probably left first thing. He could be anywhere by now."

Vista gave a bark of laughter. "Maybe to go see Big Mom and wreck one of her tea parties after all!" Then he paled as he processed what he had just said. "Knock on wood!"

 **-0-0-0-**

They had been forced to start writing lists now of questions to later ask Straw Hat when they finally met him. His actions were causing too many riddles and mysteries to buzz around in their brains, and the rumours flying across the waters were only making it worse:

Straw Hat had defeated Doflamingo single-handily.

Mighty pirates and kings had sworn themselves as his subordinates at Dressrosa.

Straw Hat had battled an admiral and had won.

He had kidnapped a beautiful princess.

He had an identical twin brother running around helping.

The Navy had invaded Dressrosa in force during the chaos and tried to kill Straw Hat, before being repulsed.

Pirate Hunter Zoro had cut down a mountain man (or a living, moving mountain, the stories conflicted) that was largest thing ever.

That Straw Hat had invoked a guardian deity to fight on his behalf

He was not eight meters tall, but twenty, and round –or fat— like a balloon.

He had seduced one of Doflamingo's assassins –the one with provocative maid outfit– to fight for him. Others said that it was an exotic dancer of some kind.

That a cult worshipping the Straw Hat Pirates had appeared in Dressrosa.

Cotton Candy Loving Chopper could turn into a fearsome bull to fight on his Captain's behalf in the colosseum arena.

A one legged soldier and actual fairies had joined the Straw Hat in his top secret mission.

Some rumors floating across the seas claimed 'Fire Fist' Ace had risen from the grave to rain fire and blood on the enemies.

That Straw hat and Law were joined at the hip, some said literally, while others were implying that they were some kind of lovers.

(The Whitebeard Pirates had no issue with the latter, and even discovered themselves joking that Law should be glad Ace was no longer able to go Overprotective Big Brother)

The fairies had brought the champions to Straw Hat to save them from the dolls.

Etcetera.

Frankly, it was getting a bit overwhelming, and just adding to everyone's confusion.

So now the Whitebeard Pirates were writing down everything they had to ask to organize and clean up the _questions_ they wanted to throw at him when he finally _sat still long enough for them to catch up!_

"We'll put all our other questions from before Dressrosa on this wall," Rakuyo explained as he tacked on another large sheet of paper while another crewmember held a large pallet or more sheets.

"Think that'll be enough?"

"Eh, we've got more hallways. Only trick'll be making sure everyone keeps their questions in order."

 **-0-0-0-**

The island of Dressrosa was just a dot upon the horizon.

 _I had to come here, the place of Doflamingo's power_ , Jozu thought, suppressing any reaction at even thinking of the nation's former ruler. The memory of how he had been held helpless by that man's powers, while the Warlord casually chatted with Crocodile and tried to recruit the ex-Warlord.

"You sure you'll be okay?" Vista asked.

Grunting, Jozu just shot his brother a look as he adjusted his cloak, and put on the hat to hide his distinctive hairstyle. "Sorry, but I'm not sitting out. You got the last island."

Giving a small 'tch' of disappointment, the swordsman went back to twirling his mustache.

Under the Third Division Commander's leadership, they would be joined by Esmirel of the ex-nurses, and Seventh Division Commander Rakuyo, who was gently putting his spiked ball into his knapsack. Finally, they would be accompanied by their ally and Brother, Captain "Bohemian Knight" Doma, for his more extensive understanding of the underworld, which would likely prove relevant here. The man's pet monkey was hiding in a knapsack, handling a miniature pistol.

"Alright," Jozu said, walking to the smaller boat they would be using to make landfall. "Let's get going."

 **-0-0-0-**

The island's devastation was a chilling testament to the power of a Warlord, one who had held his title despite making his home in waters infested with violent and greedy pirates, who would have leapt at the chance to kill him and claim his title…if they thought they could.

Jozu was silent as he slowly he took in the state of Dressrosa. Somehow he did not think it was supposed to look like a wasteland. _No surprise given the quality of the fighters, but neither Straw Hat nor Doflamingo displayed such power two years ago._

That the former had gotten stronger was no surprise. However, that the Division Commanders had been incapable of forcing the madman to unveil this level of power, and Straw Hat _had_ , was…awe inspiring.

Before the Whitebeard Pirates scouts, and previously hidden by the massive rock formation that encircled and shielded the island, they took in the sight of a nation that appeared to have escaped total destruction by a hair's breadth.

While buildings were springing up in the center of the capital city and moving outwards, everything else had been leveled, and rock formations around the massive structure that the palace rested upon looked altered in a disturbing and unnatural manner. Strange straight lines cut through the ground, rock, and buildings, pointing inwards, which they were told were the near instrument of Dressrosa's genocide by Doflamingo.

In fact, it was a miracle that half the country was not dead, and Jozu and company assumed the death toll had still been hideous.

The one who had explained this to them was one of the various local soldiers –metal helmets, capes, and spears—who were providing security at the docks during this time of uncertainty. The one who had answered the 'merchants' questions, yet visibly still a bit wary of the disguised pirates. While understandable, that concern was unnecessary as Jozu and the others were not here to raise attention.

As a precaution, the guard made a point of mentioning there was an ongoing marine presence. Fortunately, it appeared they were also mainly focused upon securing the underground harbor the deposed tyrant had created, and ensuring it was not a safety hazard. At that, the soldier pointed towards a dark hole in the ground that was visible even from this distance. "Straw Hat Luffy raised up the ground itself when he punched Doflamingo down," he neutrally said.

"Where's all the debris?" Rakuyo asked.

The soldier scowled at that. "The marine admiral was here swept it all up to throw at Straw Hat. It cleaned everything up, but he dumped all those potential building materials into the ocean!"

 **-0-0-0-**

The pirates casually made their away around the city, being careful not to attract attention.

Given the number of powerful fighters –or at least powerful anywhere outside of the New World— who were still present in Dressrosa at the moment, Jozu's height and bulk did not stand out as it would elsewhere. Moreover, they went out of their way not to cause trouble.

Jozu made a point of purchasing something whenever he spotted any soldiers, usually a snack or something that would serve as a minor souvenir, to reassure everyone these newcomers were not here to cause trouble. A few times they even stopped to help some of the citizens move a heavy load.

 _Still_ , Jozu noted, _those soldiers move as if they have been well trained. And given how everyone acts around them, they're also popular with the people_.

Despite the devastation, the populace appeared happy, alternating between maintaining their businesses and rebuilding their country whenever they had a spare moment.

"Luffyland! This way!"

Jozu blinked and looked down to see a stream of Dwarves of all creatures rushing by, miniature straw hats on their heads, followed by a crowd of cheerfully laughing children running after them, similar hats on their heads. "Yaaaay!"

"Awwww!" cooed Esmirel, the former nurse. "They're so adorable!" Yet her eyes were still sharp as she took in the hats, and they all heard the word "Luffy."

 _So he's beloved here as well_ , the pirates all wordlessly said as they shared a knowing look.

Jozu however was only briefly entertained. _It's not a question of whether or not the locals like him, but where we can_ find _him._ Still, asking about the new fad amongst the children seemed like a safe way to begin inquiries.

 **-0-0-0-**

They stopped to eat a pleasant restaurant, with a sturdy looking roof and a repaired kitchen. It was also free for locals to help support everyone. People of all occupations and social standings were present, bolting down their food with gusto after a hard day's work of repairing their homeland.

Once more Jozu made a point of appearing friendly by offering to pay for two given how much food he had to eat, before cashier could even say anything. He still took up a lot of space at the tables, but there was not much he could do about that. It was just him, Esmirel, Doma, and Rakuyo at the table after the others finished eating, and there was no hostility in the air. From snatches that could be overheard, it appeared that the kingdom was overflowing with optimism as they discussed tasks to complete, the upcoming Reverie, their returned king, the rebuilding of the army, how the Dwarves were helping after coming out of hiding.

Then _she_ came.

Bright and cheerful with pink hair, she walked in with most of the other guests stopping to smile and wave.

"Had a good day?" one man asked.

"Yep!" she chirped, pulling off her dirty gloves as she got into the lineup. "We've gotten all the hospitals fixed now!"  
"Excellent!"

The beautiful young lady got her tray of food and looked around for a place to sit, and Jozu belatedly realized that their table was the last one with a free space. The rest of the people dining here had picked up on that too late, as before they could finish standing up to make room for her, she had settled down across from the pirates with surprising speed and grace.

 _Except she doesn't_ know _we're pirates, does she_ , Jozu thought with resignation. _We're dressed as regular, unarmed merchants. She seems friendly though, since I think she sat down so fast so that none of the others would give up their spots_.

Then he saw the Dwarf on her shoulder, with curly blonde hair. _Oh, she is just too_ adorable _._

At that very moment the tension in the room skyrocketed as all the other occupants processed what had just happened, and the pirates instinctively knew it was directed towards themselves. Esmirel immediately took the initiative to break the ice. "It's good to see more women fighters," she complimented.

"Pardon?" the pink-haired beauty asked, looking up from her food.

The nurse-turned-fighter lazily gestured. "Your muscles, the way you move, you're a fighter, aren't you? And a pretty decent one I'd guess."

Blinking, the teenager looked strangely downcast. "I was," –and then her face was beaming— "but not anymore, now that we're free!"

 _Maybe a former gladiator slave from the arena?_ Jozu wondered. He knew that 'Joker' had been involved in slavery, which might explain the aura of protectiveness all of the other customers were projecting.

"Indeed," Doma agreed. "It's amazing how Doflamingo was defeated and your true king restored!"

For some reason people were looking at them with even greater suspicion, and a few whispers that the pirates caught made it seem like they were worried Jozu and the others were searching for this girl in particular.

 _New track_. "What is with all of those straw hats the children were wearing?" Jozu rumbled. "Is it some new fad with them?"

 _Oh what is wrong with these people?_ Rakuyo internally moaned at the growing number of glinting eyes they were getting, and even the pretty young lady was looking at them strangely.

"It's just something they all like," she shrugged, yet the pirates could sniff the lie, and now dimly they understood. Whoever she was, she had some connection to Monkey D. Luffy, and she and everyone else in the restaurant was afraid that these strangers were after clues to track him down and capture or kill him.

Revealing their identities was dangerous, except… "We're asking because we're looking for Straw Hat Luffy," Jozu admitted. "And not because we're marines or bounty hunters," twisting his mouth in distaste at the last four word.

"We're hoping he can help us with something," Esmirel added. "Unfortunately, he moves around too much."

"Well you won't find him here!" one person yelled.

"How dare you insinuate that our kids wear those hats because of him!?"

"Yeah! We thought he was a hero but then he stole our precious Princess! Who knows what happened to her!"

There were more agitated cries, but none of the veteran warriors sensed any real hostile intent in those words. Moreover, Esmirel noted a slight blush on the young girl's cheeks, who had not introduce herself so far at that, and she had a sinking suspicion that despite their attempts to avoid attention, the Whitebeard Pirates were now sitting beside someone who was guaranteed to put a spotlight on the former nurse and her siblings.

"Blackbeard was here recently."

None of the pirates could hide their reaction to that name, the sheer _hatred_ they felt leaking through their disguises. Yet at their reactions and the sound of that voice, the pink-haired girl seemed to relax as she turned towards the speaker who had just arrived.

The woman who had said that, was older than the young lady with them, yet also strikingly beautiful, especially with her rare dark olive-skin. The way she moved and the look in her eyes reminded them more of an assassin however, and they did not lower their guard. "Jesus Burgess of the Blackbeard Pirates participated in the competition, and later made a point of hunting for Straw Hat to kill him. Afterwards, some of their ships came by, but their crews did not come ashore and left shortly afterwards. Burgess did not join them, and he is no longer on the island."

"Was Straw Hat alright?" Jozu quietly asked, dimly noting that some of the other customers were calming down now, but his haki detected what he believed were dwarves taking position nearby as a precaution. _Whoever this is, these people respect her, trust her, she can mobilize support, and she's dangerous herself. Just not Division Commander-level obviously. I don't think she's lying, which leaves the question of why she's telling us this? What's her angle?_

"Straw Hat was badly hurt beating Doflamingo. He was saved from Burgess by his brother, Sabo, the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army, who ate the Flame-Flame Fruit like 'Fire Fist' Ace.

 _That_ news was punch to the gut.

They had known the Fruit would be in Dressrosa, and had dismissed it. As much as it would have been a memento to Ace, it had been both too risky, and too obviously a trap set by Doflamingo; he would never had let such a prize escape his hands, and challenging him would have brought Kaidou after them. The _identity_ of the new wielder however…

"I, I was unaware that there was a third brother," Doma said.

"As was I," said Esmirel, with Rakuyo and Jozu nodding in agreement.

"They are quite the family indeed," the mysterious newcomer agreed. "Although I suspect you know something about family. No, don't worry," she hastily reassured them as they tensed, a drop of nervous sweat appearing on her brow. "I wish you all good fortune in finding Straw Hat."

Seeing the sincerity in her expression, they relaxed, as did everyone else in the restaurant, but then the beautiful lady became more serious. "There's something else. Some of the Straw Hats, under the command of 'Black Leg' Sanji," and here she blushed, "were forced to sail away from Dressrosa to protect both a passenger and a hostage, but also to lead off Big Mom's ships. One of the large, singing ones."

"Those are only used by her most senior crew members," Rakuyu hissed with dread. _Straw Hat challenged her, an Emperor. Is this her response!?_

"The Straw Hats escaped," the woman continued, "and I've heard that their Captain planned to meet up with them, although I don't know exactly where." Then she gave a melodramatic sigh. "Unfortunately, since Straw Hat successfully escaped, we have no idea where he is now," and then as if in afterthought, "nor Princess Rebecca." Then she sobered up again. "Nonetheless, I do not think you will find anything more of value here, so you would be best to meet with the others," jerking her thumb over her shoulder in the _exact_ direction of where Marco and the others were waiting out of sight offshore, "and try somewhere else."

 _She knows who we are and why we're here_ , Jozu calmly thought. _How? Is it Observation Haki taken to an immense level, or maybe a Devil Fruit? Still, I think she's right._ He and the others were using their own haki for confirmation after all. _Would also explain why she knows so much, since it looks like she's telling the truth._

"Thank you," he gravely said, and finished what was left of his meal. The others followed suit, but then Esmirel tapped her chin. "Is there a message that you might like us to pass onto him?"  
"She means a message that some traitorous scoundrel might want a dirty pirate to know," Doma corrected with a knowing grin.

"Just, just tell him that his friend from the colosseum, and everyone else are still happy," the pink-haired girl smiled.

"Yes indeed," the older woman nodded with a small grin of her own. "And maybe that we hope to see more of Blackfoot next time," she added with another light blush.

Without another word the pirates made to make their leave, when an older man still finishing his food called after them, "Make sure to see the statues before you leave!"

 **-0-0-0-**

"Gah!" Rakuyu screeched, putting them all on guard. "We should've asked those women if they knew if Chopper was a pet or not!"

"This is getting _ridiculous_ ," Esmirel sighed

"Should we go back and ask?" Doma hesitantly asked.

"No," Jozu growled. He could see the statues up ahead –just not the details— and wanted to get off of this island as soon as possible. The increasing number of knowing glances the locals were shooting him made it clear that word about them was spreading, and it was only a matter of time before the wrong ears overheard. Taking advantage of this, he walked over to one man in particular who had been staring at him. "Excuse me, may I ask you a quick question?"

"Perhaps?" was the wary response.

"My companions and I have been wondering if 'Cotton Candy Loving' Tony-Tony Chopper of the Straw Hat Pirates is really a pet or not. I don't suppose you've heard any rumours about him from when he was on Dressrosa?"

The man blinked in surprise at the question for a few heartbeats, before regretfully shaking his head. "Sorry, but I don't think I ever even heard of him setting foot on the island."

Groaning, Jozu glanced around at the other citizens, who only shook their heads in response.

"Are you KIDDING ME!?" shrieked Rakuyu.

"Guess we'll just have to try at the next island," Esmirel wearily concluded.

"Thank you," Jozu politely said before continuing on their way.

Two minutes later they were at the statues.

"Okay, all I see is a are carvings of a guy with a helmet and sword looking cool, a man with a chestnut on his head," observed Doma, "some sort of goblin sticking its tongue out, and, wait, is that—?"

"We went over those Wanted Posters carefully," Rakuyu said with authority. "That 'goblin' is undoubtedly 'God' Usopp. I just have no idea why they did it like that. While the fourth must be 'Straw Hat.' Lucy being an alias for Luffy!" he triumphantly decreed.

"He grew a beard that long in two years?" Doma asked in surprise.

"Impressive," Jozu solemnly nodded.

"A sign of grieving?" Esmirel pondered aloud.

"Uhm, no, it's a fake," Rakuyu corrected. "He didn't have a beard on his Wanted Poster."

"Definitely understandable that he would overlook shaving if he was upset or training," Jozu continued. "Rayleigh probably took him to some isolated place were there wasn't any razors anyways."

"Oh come on," Rakuyu said incredulously. "Hey, I am telling you, in his picture there was no beard. For crying out loud, we all saw him punching Caesar on the Den-Den days ago, and he didn't have a beard then either!"

"Wow! Then he must have grown it in only a few days!" Esmirel gasped. "That's a serious medical condition! If left untreated it will be his armpit hairs next!"

"What!? Wait…You're all just messing with me, aren't you?"

"Yep," Jozu's lips twitched into the briefest smirk. "Now let's get back to Marco. We can add 'How to disguise yourself' to the list of things we've got to teach him."

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **Thanks Kingrii for your suggestion about Marco being afraid to sleep and wake up to more madness! :-P**

 **The scene with the straw hats and the children actually happened in the anime, episode 778. Not the Jozu part however :-P**

 **Yes, that was Rebecca and Viola that the WBP met.**

 **Will the Whitebeard Pirates _ever_ learn Chopper's true status!?**

 **-0-**

 **Recommended fics:**

 **"Cat and Dog on a Whale" by MeanderCat**

 **"Shanks's Hair Trouble" by rose7anne101**

 **"My Family Can Beat Up Your Family" by rose7anne101**

 **-0-**

 **Next chapter: 'Looking for Marco'**

 **-0-**

 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	14. Looking for Marco

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has written some pretty amazing stuff for One Piece.

 **-0-0-0-**

Rise from the Ashes

 **-0-0-0-**

Chapter 14: Looking for Marco

 **-0-0-0-**

"If indeed he still lives," assured Master Cat Viper, "I have a bit of an idea where our friend Marco might be."

After all, both he and Duke Dogstorm, the leaders of the Minks of Zou, were friends of the man. Indeed, after joining their beloved Lord Oden in sailing aboard the _Moby Dick_ under Whitebeard, they were all nakama with Marco.

Allying together to take down Kaido would benefit them all, as destroying an Emperor would prove to the world that the Whitebeard Pirates were once more a force to be feared. On a more practical note, it would provide resources and remove a threat to their rear when they inevitably aimed to kill the treacherous Blackbeard again.

And both Minks understood such motivations well. If they were to avenge Lord Oden and fulfil his cherished dream, then his former retainers _needed_ the legendary might of the surviving Whitebeard Pirates. Skilled veterans who had battled against Kaido's forces in the past.

And of course Cat Viper and Dogstorm would be right there beside them going after Blackbeard afterwards. No one got away with killing a man like Whitebeard!

Doubtless Straw Hat would be happy –nay, enthusiastic!— to get in on that action!

So once they had taken care of the drama of Jack's return, Cat Viper and some of his most trusted Guardians –barring the ones left behind to help out the Musketeers— sailed off.

 **-0-0-0-**

Carefully Cat Viper stalked his way throughout the island. With equal care his subordinates followed, wary for enemies. _If Marco went to ground, this'd be it_ , he knew.

The island was hidden away by natural hazards from all but the most skilled of navigators and helmsmen, even if you knew it existed. Whitebeard had discovered it shortly after he had first become Captain of his own crew, and Teach had neither joined at that point, nor attained sufficient seniority before his defection. However as valued allies, both Cat Viper and Dogstorm had been informed of the island's existence and location. Just as a precaution.

Still, this was the New World, and for all of his gusto, the Mink King knew the folly of acting without caution. If the Whitebeard Pirates were still the souls he had known them to be, Marco would not attack if they detected any intruders until they knew who it was. Yet if Teach, the marines, or someone else was here, then the Guardians needed to be wary of any ambush.

Consequently, it was rather anti-climactic to find the island deserted.

"Huh," Cat Viper sighed as he lit his pipe, "not even a booby trap!? What a waste of time!"

They had gambled and lost. Believing that Marco and the rest were here, the oversized feline had brought his men for nothing. Oh sure, there was evidence that they had been here at least once in the last year or so, but they were gone now.

There was no telling where the Whitebeard Pirates had disappeared too—the New World was just too vast. Moreover, Cat Viper had no other idea on where to start, as Marco and the rest had totally vanished from the seas following their escape from Blackbeard. There simply were no more clues, and the isolationist Minks, and their allies, had barely any contacts to ask for information. Given the enemies they were already facing, and the timeline they were under, a prolonged search was simply out of the question.

While Cat Viper remained tall and proud for the sake of his men's morale, he felt the burden on his shoulders grow. Now they would have to confront the full force of Kaido's wrath without the help of the Whitebeard Pirates.

With a heavy heart, the Mink King turned to leave.

"Sire!" Roddy the bull Mink cried. "Over here!"

In a flash of speed that defied his bulk, Cat Viper was at the far wall, reading the note pinned to it by a knife.

"If friends, we're off to find Straw Hat Luffy. If enemies, watch out for what's to come!

"The Whitebeards are back!"

-First Division Commander Marco, Whitebeard Pirates

Cat Viper could only laugh as he rolled on the ground.

 **-0-0-0-**

 **Author Notes:**

 **This is me hoping that the Whitebeard Pirates are indeed on the move, but we will have to wait to see what comes.**

 **In the meantime, I do have a few more ideas, but suggestions are always welcome! :-D**

 **-0-**

 **Recommended fics:**

 **"Sabo's Wanted Poster" by Thisisarealtagwhy**

 **"** **A Slight Hope That this could be Real" by Adkop**

 **"** **One Piece Novel:** **麦わらストーリズ** **"** **b** **y MasterQwertster**

 **"** **For Better or For Worse" by Syluk**

 **"** **Brother Complex and How It Traumatizes Others" by Alsheon**

 **-0-**

 **Next chapter: '** Guard or Seek'

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 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


	15. Guard or Seek

I do not own One Piece

 **-0-0-0-**

Beta read by the wonderful rose7anne101, who has written some pretty amazing stuff for One Piece.

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 **Guest Review answers :-D**

Guest

Reaction to Wholecake Island is definitely coming up :-)

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

.

Guest

I agree, the trips between islands are probably longer, but honestly very difficult to keep track unless Oda is explicit about it. One of my (few) complaints is that I wish he would spend more time showing what is happening during the time between those voyages.

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

.

Guest

Sanji's poster was ridiculous indeed, but more from the perspective of when you know what Sanji really looks like. There are a lot of strange looking people in this world, and people like the Whitebeards, who have those among their number, would react less.

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

.

peggysteve128

Yes, when I get to the reactions about Luffy becoming the Fifth Emperor, I will definitely include Marco and Co.'s reaction regarding Jinbe.

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

.

The Gokou

Nice to hear you found it so amusing! :-D As for the next one, hear it is! I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

.

AdditonYa'll

And Zoro was rightfully smug about it ;-)

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

.

Alice (Guest)

Glad to hear you are enjoying it so much :-)

LOL yeah, if only Luffy could be a good little rookie and stay put for a few days! X-D

Thank you for your review and support! :-D

Here is the newest chapter, and I hope you enjoy it! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! :-D

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Rise from the Ashes

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Chapter 15: Guard or Seek

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 **Warning: Spoilers for chapter 909**

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Antsy with impatience as he waited for the scouting team to return from Dressrosa, Marco walked into his cabin to look over his personal maps for the 20th time, hoping to find some clue to what Straw Hat Luffy would do next—

—and walked out onto an unfamiliar island.

He blinked, looked around with his all his senses, including his haki. Turning around, he saw that the door that was supposed to lead to his room was now attached to pleasant little cottage. Very welcoming and warm, even if he had never seen it before in his life. Also, he could not detect any of his brothers and sisters, only strangers within his (considerable) range. He pinched his nose in frustration and to check if he felt pain. _Alright, not a dream. So what has the New World thrown at me_ this _time?_

"Doctor Marco!"

Slowly turning around, he saw a stranger run up to him. There was something about how she dressed in that full skirt which tingled at some memory, yet what was probably the most surprising was the open trust in her eyes. _How does she know my name, and wait a second._ Doctor? _That's a new one_.

"Sorry to bother you," she said with a smile, "but could you please heal this?" She held up a hand which had long scratches on the palm, like she had taken a nasty tumble. While it would sting a lot, it was nothing serious. Although it would also make it hard for her to work for a little bit.

He paused for the briefest moment –too short for her to notice—before raising his own hand and letting the familiar flames dance upon it. Seeing this as an invitation, she put her cuts into the fire without another word, beaming all the way. "I like your outfit by the way. I haven't seen you wear that before though. Pulling out the old pirate duds for Nekomamushi?"

"Something like that," Marco vaguely answered, hiding any reaction. _Nekomamushi? I haven't thought of that old sea cat in ages..._ He reached out with his haki once more, this time searching out for that specific signature, but could not find anything _. I'll hold off on asking for details until I know what's going on._ A few moments later, she was all better, and he gave her a smile. "You be more careful now, alright-yoi?"

"Yes sir," she cheekily answered, before skipping off.

Rubbing his chin in thought, Marco swept the horizon once more, noting how they seemed to be in some sort of dormant volcano, and turned around to find himself face-to-face with his reflection.

Or almost.

And no, it wasn't a mirror.

Other-Marco was wearing a white shirt and black pants that gave him a landlubber appearance, if not for the familiar tattoo peaking through on his chest, and a pair of wireframe glasses.

They stared at each other, taking in their mutual appearance and haki signatures. Then both quickly sprouted flaming blue and gold wings, which were supposed to be unique to them alone. Then patterns of fire sprouted up randomly over their bodies, matching each other. Finally they each took a long look at each other's tattoo of the Whitebeard Jolly Roger, and in perfect synchronization pinched their noses in exasperation.

"I'm Marco the Phoenix," the one with glasses introduced himself. "Doctor Marco. Not that I have any credentials or anything."

"First Division Commander Marco."

Then as one they went to a convenient bench and sat down together.  
"What next, huh?"  
"Tell me about it."

"Anyone else, they'd probably be panicking or something, but by this point…"

"Yeah. Heh, and if I, or we, ever were actually shocked, I'd never let it show. I've got a rep after all."

"True, true."

"And it wouldn't do to get all suspicious of someone wearing our Jolly Roger."

"Well of course!"

They sat in silence for a few minutes, until they both loudly said the exact same date at the exact same time.

They both let out a tiny sight of relief. So this was no time travel nonsense or other.

An easy, companionable silence fell as they enjoyed the sight of the secret nation.

After a few minutes though, Commander Marco had to voice some questions that were starting to bug him. "Some girl came up to me for healing, and said you'd been a pirate once."

"Yep," drawled the other. "Formerly Pop's First Division Commander myself."

". . . He's dead here too then." A statement. For why else would he not be at their father's side?

". . . Yeah. I wouldn't be here otherwise."

"…Thatch?"

"…the traitor Blackbeard got them both. You-yoi?"

A sad sigh, which was then echoed after "Yeah…"

"Ace . . ." he began hesitantly.

The look that was in both of their faces was answer enough.

Silence fell again, except this time there was a bit of tension.

"Well," Doctor Marco finally said. "I have to say, I'm disappointed in you-yoi."

"Oh?" Commander Marco calmly said.

"Well, we both took up the same Jolly Roger, the promise to be a family and sail the seas together to see all its wonders, right?"

"Uh huh."

"And it wasn't until Pops died that you left that life behind."

"More or less-yoi."

"Okay, so that's when both of us made our big decision on what to do next. I'm guessing you chose to keep the Whitebeard Pirates together, and you're sailing the seas, doing your best to stay alive, while trying to get revenge on Teach."

"Of course," Commander Marco said in confusion. "Are you saying you left your crew and allies behind?"

"We all went our different ways, but we're talking about you right now. Is doing what you're doing what Pops taught you?"

The Commander hesitated. "No," he confessed. "Friends and family first. He was even willing to let Teach go because he had a bad feeling about it."  
Neither mentioned how it ended from letting Ace still chase off in vengeance.

"Exactly. Do you know what this place is?"

"I'm guessing this is Pop's homeland? Where he poured in every single beli he got from his split of the cash and gold?" He pointedly did not say 'treasure.' Only the naïve used that to describe financial wealth.

The Doctor smirked at that. "And then went all stingy when he was supposed to pay for stuff with us. But yeah, that's right."

"…It's beautiful-yoi. A paradise in the New World where it was once nothing except poverty and depravation, where strong survived and did whatever they wanted to everyone else."

" _Yep_ ," popped the Doctor.

"You're protecting it."

"From Teach, and Weevil too. You know Weevil? Yeah, him and his mom are sniffing around, trying to find this place. And I can't just go chasing after them," Doctor Marco sighed. "Too many threats will come now while I'm away, even if I found Weevil straight off."

Rubbing his head, Commander Marco nodded reluctantly. "I hear what you're saying, but I can't let the family fall apart. And if we're going to stop Teach, stop him from destroying us and any more families, then we've got to go on the offensive. The time of the Whitebeard Pirates might be past, yet we can still help the next generation pull it off and forge a New Era.

"As for Weevil, he's hunting down all of Pop's allies and sons. Keeping together and watching out for each other's backs is safer. And even without that, there's a bunch of people who want to make their reputation by bragging they took one of us down. This way, if they want to mess with us, they have to deal with _all_ of us.

"This island in our world doesn't have all of us guarding it like here, but we are drawing a lot of threats towards us, and taking on others in the process. At this rate, I'm half afraid Straw Hat will have Kaido after us all, as well as Teach."

Throughout this speech, the other Phoenix was impassive. "You're right about protecting our family, but they're all fighters. These people here," he made a slow gesture at the village, "are not. Pops didn't want them to be, ever again. And this sea is too dangerous without protection." He took a deep breath. "What's done is done, I can't change it now."

Before the Division Commander could say something, the Doctor held up a finger. "Besides, taming these seas is the job of the next generation. You mentioned Ace's little brother, Straw Hat. He's who you're betting on to forge the New Age, the one Pops promised us. It was not a question. In fact, it was too obvious. "If he's really going to claim the Throne, then he'll have to handle all the threats to this island and our family anyways. I'm just keeping safe the most vulnerable part." Then he gave a small smile. "You just missed Nekomamushi dropping by to ask about that. Turns out he and the kid, and another rookie named Law, are definitely going after Kaido."

"Of _course_ ," groaned Commander Marco. "One thing after another. He keeps sailing away before we can catch up, throwing the status quo into a jumble in his wake-yoi."

"As to be expected," the Doctor snickered with a distinct lack of sympathy. Then he perked up more. "Did he take down your Doflamingo too?"

The smug smile was his only answer, and it was promptly mirrored. They only hoped the now _ex_ -Warlord's defeat was particularly painful after all he had done during the Summit War, and they were confident that Straw Hat had come through in spades for that.

"Speaking of which," the Doctor added, "he's probably looking for you in your world," they had figured out they were from parallel worlds pretty instinctively, "and looks like he missed giving you your invitation to help Straw Hat, because you're sailing around looking for Straw Hat," the Doctor laughed.

It was almost a pained sound the active pirate made as he processed that. _Just my life._

"Although," now he was outright chortling, "apparently his first stop to try and find us was Pineapple Island of all places to find me! Can you believe it!? Ha ha ha!"

They both took a moment to enjoy that ridiculous idea.

After calming down, the Doctor gave the Commander a serious look. "Look, you made your decision, so it's not my business anymore. All I've got to say is, whatever you do, make sure you keep Pop's _treasure_ safe."

"I will," he simply vowed, yet the conviction behind those two words was ever-burning and eternal.

"Good, now you'd better get back before you're missed."

"Right," and then the First Division Commander played a hunch and walked back into the cottage, and as he stepped into it and suddenly found himself back out on the _Moby Dick II_ 's deck.

He looked around to make sure he was back where he was supposed to be this time, and then turned to look back at the seemingly-innocent doorway behind him.

 _I'm never going to be able to look at a door the same way again, am I? Hopefully it'll let me get to bed tonight at least._

Marco smiled, at least he knew where they should sail next.

He needed to meet an old friend, Nekomamushi.

 _Now where did I put his and Inuarashi's vivre cards?_

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 **Author Notes:**

 **The part about Pineapple Island comes from MasterQwertster's DeviantArt translation of "One Piece Party OMC Chapter 820."**

 **I admit, after chapter 909 of the manga, a part of me is considering letting this story be put to rest after another few chapters or so. Will see how it goes. After all, right now Marco thinks Weevil is coming after him, not knowing that the man-child and his mom are actually now targeting Luffy for information…**

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 **Recommended fics:**

 **"** **Legacy," by Mai Kusakabe**

 **"** **Empathy," by Mai Kusakabe**

 **"** **The Trouble With Eastern," by teaandtumblr**

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 **Next chapter: 'The Fifth Emperor'**

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 **Please Review, and I will get back to you!**


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